Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 40.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 73,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,153 shares during the quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,084,885,000 after buying an additional 510,080 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Southern by 320.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 285,546 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in Southern by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,904,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $275,277,000 after buying an additional 53,641 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $92.04 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $103.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.41. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.19.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.08.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’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 directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company 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.