Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Roundview Capital LLC

Key Points

• Roundview Capital cut its Southern Company stake by 62% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,912 shares and leaving it with 8,509 shares valued at about $742,000.
• Southern insiders also sold stock, including CEO Kimberly S. Greene and EVP Christopher Cummiskey, both reducing their ownership in March transactions.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and raised its dividend to $0.76 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with a $99.56 price target.

Roundview Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 62.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,509 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,912 shares during the quarter. Roundview Capital LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.56.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $93.72 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $105.66 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued 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 is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

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.

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.