Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Purchased by D.A. Davidson & CO.

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & Co. boosted its stake in Southern Company by 20.5% in Q4, holding 99,386 shares worth about $8.67 million after buying an additional 16,878 shares.
• Insiders sold stock: EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares (~$643,892) and CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares (~$2.42 million), cutting their ownership by 17.8% and 19.44%, respectively.
• Southern increased its quarterly dividend to $0.76 (annualized $3.04) for a yield of 3.2%, with an ex-dividend date of May 18 and payment on June 8.

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,386 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,878 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Southern were worth $8,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in Southern by 0.5% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Southern by 4.1% during the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc raised its position in Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 6,145 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was 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. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.08.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $94.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.08. 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 firm has a market cap of $106.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.32%.

Southern 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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