Truist Financial Corp Has $63.95 Million Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Truist Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 912,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 69,634 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.08% of Southern worth $63,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. BCR Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. BCR Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its position in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 13,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 6.0% during the third quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 24,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,602,000 after buying an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $73.21 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $80.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Southern Profile

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.