Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 34.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 545,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 140,401 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $44,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,626,000 after buying an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 94.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after buying an additional 140,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $85.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $93.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SO. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

Southern Company 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.