Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments increased its stake in Southern by 19.6% in Q4, buying 32,933 shares to hold 201,137 shares valued at about $17.54 million.
• Insider sales: CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares at an average of $96.67 and EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares at about $96.55, leaving insiders with only 0.16% ownership.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus "Hold" and a $98.69 average price target (7 Buy, 12 Hold, 1 Sell); the stock pays a $0.74 quarterly dividend (≈3.1% yield) with a ~75% payout ratio.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 201,137 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 32,933 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Southern were worth $17,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Xcel Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank increased its holdings in Southern by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 86,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,518,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in Southern by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 6,612 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,105 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in Southern by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 12,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 5,014 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Evercore upgraded 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 note on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.69.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $94.56 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.65 and a 200 day moving average of $92.22. The stock has a market cap of $106.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. Southern's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

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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