Union Savings Bank Makes New $593,000 Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $593,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE SO opened at $93.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $105.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $93.58 and a 200-day moving average of $92.07. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is an increase 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%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.32.

About Southern

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.