Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,393 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 35,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,100,000 after buying an additional 3,431 shares during the period. Robbins Farley grew its stake in shares of Southern by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 39,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,454,000 after buying an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Successful Portfolios LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC now owns 9,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 8,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $97.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.17. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.69.

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.