Truist Financial Corp Raises Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Southern Company by 33.7% in Q4, adding 236,404 shares to hold 938,055 shares valued at about $81.8 million (roughly 0.09% of the company).
• Southern beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $1.32 versus $1.21 expected and revenue of $8.40 billion, and it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 (annualized $3.04) for a yield of about 3.2%.
• Insiders sold shares: CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares (≈$2.42M), cutting her stake by 19.44%, and EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares; insiders now own about 0.16% of the stock.

Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 938,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 236,404 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned approximately 0.09% of Southern worth $81,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth about $34,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Seven equities research 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $95.97 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $95.89 and its 200 day moving average is $92.03. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $108.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 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 (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share 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 given a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.32%.

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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