Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Bell Bank

Key Points

• Bell Bank boosted its stake in Southern Company by 20.5% in Q4, buying 21,751 shares to own 127,901 shares worth about $11.15 million, while institutional investors hold 64.10% of the stock.
• EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares at an average price of $96.55 on March 19 (proceeds ≈ $643,892), reducing his ownership by 17.8%; corporate insiders now own just 0.16% of SO.
• Analysts' views are mixed with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $98.08, amid recent upgrades from firms like TD Cowen and Evercore and a range of Buy/Hold/Sell opinions.

Bell Bank lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,901 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 21,751 shares during the period. Bell Bank's holdings in Southern were worth $11,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Sara Bay Financial grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SO. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Evercore upgraded Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Southern Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of SO stock opened at $95.51 on Friday. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $105.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $93.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

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 company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

About Southern

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.