Keel Point LLC Raises Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Keel Point LLC lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,797 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $10,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Southern by 320.3% in the 3rd 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 purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,111,450,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of Southern by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after buying an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Southern by 1,518.4% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,880,000 after buying an additional 979,587 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.7%

SO stock opened at $93.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.01 and a 200 day moving average of $91.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS 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 company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern 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 directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

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.