Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) is AM Investment Strategies LLC's 10th Largest Position

Key Points

• AM Investment Strategies LLC has increased its stake in Southern Company by 9.3%, making it the firm's 10th largest position with holdings now valued at approximately $8.99 million.
• Southern Company's CEO, Kimberly S. Greene, significantly sold 13,158 shares at an average price of $95.00, reducing her ownership by 12.32%.
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.23 per share, exceeding expectations, with revenue up 17.0% year-over-year, amounting to $7.78 billion.

AM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,780 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,339 shares during the period. Southern comprises approximately 2.2% of AM Investment Strategies LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. AM Investment Strategies LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $8,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Equitable Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 27,684 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,546,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 3.7% during the first quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,621 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 12.2% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 18,792 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,728,000 after buying an additional 2,043 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Southern by 7.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 575,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,959,000 after buying an additional 38,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 1.2% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 99,123 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,114,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.53.

Southern Trading Down 0.1%

Southern stock opened at $95.00 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.38. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $90.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

Southern 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.

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