Southern Company (The) $SO Stock Holdings Lessened by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 436,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,878 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $38,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $655,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Southern by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Southern by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after purchasing an additional 13,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SO. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE SO opened at $93.80 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year 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 capitalization of $105.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.77.

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. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

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.