Atria Investments Inc Buys 5,680 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,680 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 120.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued 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 an average price target of $99.85.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $92.56 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $104.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.80. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern 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 owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.