Posted by admin on Aug 21st, 2022 
Strategic Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) by 15.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,618 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $268,032,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 195.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,591,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $109,169,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052,909 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 122.8% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,375,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,360,000 after acquiring an additional 758,323 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,314,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,074,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $210,816,000 after acquiring an additional 627,911 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.58% of the company’s stock.
In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 14,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total transaction of $1,057,340.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,406,509.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 14,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total transaction of $1,057,340.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,406,509.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James Y. Kerr II sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $1,900,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 136,987 shares in the company, valued at $10,411,012. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,002,500 over the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
NYSE SO opened at $80.16 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $60.99 and a 12-month high of $80.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.50.
Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.23. Southern had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 12th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.77%.
A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $76.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 21st. UBS Group raised shares of Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $81.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, June 30th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 25th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.70.
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The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, Wholesale Gas Services, and Gas Marketing Services segments. 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, wholesale gas services, and gas pipeline investments operations.
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