Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Spirepoint Private Client LLC

Key Points

• Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its stake in Southern Company by 13.3% in Q4 to 97,631 shares, valued at about $8.51 million.
• Major institutional buying continued—Capital World Investors boosted its position 320.3% to ~33.55 million shares (~$3.18 billion) and institutions now own 64.10% of SO.
• Recent results and payout: Southern missed Q4 EPS by $0.01 at $0.55 while revenue rose 10.1% YoY to $6.98 billion, and it pays a $0.74 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.96, ~3.0% yield, 75.32% payout ratio).

Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 11,460 shares during the quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $8,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Southern by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Southern by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1,518.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $95,880,000 after buying an additional 979,587 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 790.6% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 811,737 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,542,000 after buying an additional 720,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,358,000 after buying an additional 543,517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.5%

SO opened at $97.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.17. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Southern's payout ratio is 75.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Southern and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.08.

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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