Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA Has $1.32 Million Position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA lifted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SOFree Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Investors Research Corp boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Elequin Capital LP boosted its holdings in Southern by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $95.44 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $90.87 and its 200 day moving average is $89.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $96.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.53.

View Our Latest Research Report on SO

Southern Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Southern (NYSE:SO)

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