Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Purchases New Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 272,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $23,724,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 4.3% during the third quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 2.3% during the third quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $93.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.79. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. 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 company has a market cap of $105.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial began coverage on Southern in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.85.

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.