Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by M Holdings Securities Inc.

Key Points

• M Holdings Securities Inc. increased its Southern Company stake by 94.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 11,966 additional shares and bringing its total to 24,668 shares worth about $2.15 million.
• Southern reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $1.32 versus the $1.21 estimate and revenue of $8.40 billion versus $8.07 billion expected. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $99.38.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, implying an annualized payout of $3.04 and a dividend yield of about 3.2%. Meanwhile, CEO Kimberly S. Greene and EVP Christopher Cummiskey recently sold shares.

M Holdings Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 94.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,668 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,966 shares during the quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $2,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 directly owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.3%

SO opened at $94.15 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $106.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

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.

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