Cordatus Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Cordatus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Elequin Capital LP grew its holdings in Southern by 60.6% during the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $95.03 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $91.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.53.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.