Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 208,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,191 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $18,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Southern by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,179,715,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 9,099.6% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,011,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373,271 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased 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 worth $376,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth $103,342,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SO. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $103.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $93.49 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $92.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.73. The company has a market capitalization of $102.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is 75.32%.

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.