Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Geode Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Southern Company stake by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 27.26 million shares worth about $2.38 billion.
• Southern reported strong quarterly results, posting $1.32 EPS versus the $1.21 consensus and revenue of $8.40 billion, while revenue rose 8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, implying an annualized yield of about 3.2%.

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.48% of Southern worth $2,381,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of SO opened at $93.72 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $105.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm 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%.Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.56.

Southern Company Profile

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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