Tempo Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 16,949 Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Tempo Wealth LLC initiated a new position in Southern Company, buying 16,949 shares valued at about $1.48 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional interest in Southern remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors owning 64.10% of the company; several large firms, including Capital World Investors and Vanguard, also recently increased their stakes.
• Southern reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised its dividend to $0.76 per share quarterly, but analysts remain cautious overall with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $99.32.

Tempo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,478,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Southern by 320.3% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,450,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Southern by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Southern by 83.8% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $376,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE SO opened at $93.23 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $93.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $105.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 77.35%.

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.

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