Focus Partners Wealth Grows Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,415,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 128,390 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned about 0.13% of Southern worth $123,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after buying an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its position in shares of Southern by 243.3% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after buying an additional 14,753 shares during the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,443,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,462,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.1%

Southern stock opened at $93.90 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $93.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during 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%. Southern’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.2%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Seven 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 MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Southern Company 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.