MGO One Seven LLC Has $4.58 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• MGO One Seven LLC increased its stake in Southern Company by 36.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 52,496 shares valued at about $4.58 million.
• Southern reported strong quarterly results, posting earnings of $1.32 per share versus estimates of $1.21 and revenue of $8.40 billion, which was above expectations and up 8% from a year earlier.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, implying an annualized dividend of $3.04 and a yield of about 3.3%.

MGO One Seven LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 36.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,496 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,992 shares during the quarter. MGO One Seven LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $4,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 2,785.8% during the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,358,000 after purchasing an additional 543,517 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth $4,852,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,513,000 after acquiring an additional 11,460 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $260,966,000 after acquiring an additional 47,451 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 0.7%

SO opened at $91.80 on Friday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Southern's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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