7,058 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Acquired by Dockside LLC

Dockside LLC acquired a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,058 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $615,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised 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 acquiring 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 $4,443,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $2,462,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SO. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Southern Price Performance

SO 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. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.97. The stock has a market cap of $105.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.76 dividend. 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 boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.16% of the stock is currently 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.