Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 273,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,626 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $23,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $655,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after purchasing an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of SO opened at $91.25 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $94.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm 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 for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

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.