Southern Company (The) $SO Stock Position Raised by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its stake in Southern Company by 6.4% to 4,265,347 shares (about 0.39% of the company), valued at roughly $371.9 million at quarter-end.
• Top insiders sold stock: EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares and CEO Kimberly Greene sold 25,000 shares, reducing their holdings by 17.8% and 19.44% respectively (corporate insiders now own 0.16%).
• Southern raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 (annualized $3.04) for a ~3.3% yield; the company also reported a slight EPS miss while revenue rose about 10.1% year‑over‑year.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,265,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 255,230 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.39% of Southern worth $371,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $103.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.08.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 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 $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $93.52 on Monday. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $95.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.12. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. 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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