Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard increased its stake in Southern Company by 1.5% in Q4 and now owns 108,057,413 shares, or about 9.81% of the company, valued at roughly $9.42 billion.
• Southern raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 (annualized $3.04) for a yield of about 3.3%, with an ex-dividend date of May 18 and payment on June 8.
• In Q4 the company reported EPS of $0.55 (missing estimates by $0.01) while revenue beat at $6.98 billion, up 10.1% year-over-year.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 1,643,090 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.81% of Southern worth $9,422,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $93.52 on Monday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $105.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.12.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.08.

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.

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.