Liberty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,140 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $932,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Southern by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $889,490,000 after acquiring an additional 460,594 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,794,000 after purchasing an additional 979,756 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Southern by 325.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $355,864,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,527 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 4.1% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,046,293 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $280,107,000 after purchasing an additional 120,816 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.9% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,617,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $240,684,000 after purchasing an additional 22,803 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.
Southern Stock Up 0.5%
Shares of Southern stock opened at $94.96 on Monday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.46 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock's fifty day moving average is $91.38 and its 200-day moving average is $89.50.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.
Southern Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.29.
View Our Latest Report on SO
About Southern
(
Free Report)
The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.
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