Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 99,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,315 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% 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. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $93.23 on Monday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $93.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.09.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SO. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.32.

Southern 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.