IFM Investors Pty Ltd Acquires 9,127 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,127 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $22,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth $37,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth $1,584,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its position in shares of Southern by 243.3% in the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 14,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $4,443,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Seven equities research 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $93.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $94.01 and its 200-day moving average is $91.94. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. 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 (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

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.