Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Bell Bank

Bell Bank grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 127,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,751 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $11,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Sara Bay Financial grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $95.51 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $93.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 75.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore upgraded Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $103.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.08.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.