6,196 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Acquired by Zinnia Wealth Advisory LLC

Zinnia Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 6,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SO. Gentry Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.3% in the third quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore upgraded Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the 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 approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $93.90 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.97. The stock has a market cap of $105.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

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.