Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Acquires 120,000 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its holdings in Southern Company by 120.0%, acquiring an additional 120,000 shares to reach a total of 220,000 shares valued at approximately $20.23 million.
• Southern Company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, which reflects an annualized amount of $2.96 and a dividend yield of 3.1%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Southern Company, with two sell ratings, nine hold ratings, and four buy ratings, resulting in an average price target of $94.29.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 120.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 220,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 120,000 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $20,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its holdings in Southern by 1.1% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 23.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 1.9% during the first quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $93.88. The stock had a trading volume of 7,908,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,183,210. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.01. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

Southern Company Profile

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.