Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Trims Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB trimmed its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 40.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,533 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,084,885,000 after purchasing an additional 510,080 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Southern by 320.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southern during the second quarter valued at $1,179,715,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Southern by 3.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,628,000 after buying an additional 285,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Southern by 1.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $621,567,000 after buying an additional 87,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of SO opened at $96.22 on Friday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.72. The firm has a market cap of $105.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction 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 trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. Evercore raised Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.08.

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.