WCG Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2.52 Million Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 131.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,392 shares during the quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Southern by 320.3% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after acquiring an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,381,344,000 after purchasing an additional 384,860 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $1,111,450,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,628,000 after purchasing an additional 285,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Seven investment 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 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.38.

Southern Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of SO opened at $91.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.30 and a 200-day moving average of $91.82.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents 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 owned by company insiders.

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.