Corient Private Wealth LLC Increases Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 253,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,910 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $22,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gentry Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in Southern by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. boosted its stake in Southern by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 11,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.15.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $93.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $105.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $93.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.12. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released 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. 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 previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors 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 annualized dividend 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 77.35%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.