SHP Wealth Management Purchases New Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $93.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $105.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $93.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.