Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Has $2.17 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas more than doubled its position in Southern Company, increasing holdings by 104.1% in the fourth quarter to 24,885 shares worth about $2.17 million.
• Southern reported strong quarterly results, posting $1.32 EPS versus the $1.21 estimate and revenue of $8.40 billion, ahead of expectations and up 8% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, implying a 3.2% annualized yield, even as some executives sold shares during the period.

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas grew its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 104.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,885 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,693 shares during the quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas' holdings in Southern were worth $2,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after buying an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Southern by 320.3% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,381,344,000 after buying an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Southern by 3.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $808,628,000 after buying an additional 285,546 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Southern by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,265,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $371,938,000 after buying an additional 255,230 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SO. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Truist Financial began coverage on Southern in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.72 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $94.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.83. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.66 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

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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