Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 41.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 206,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,173 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $17,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $92.74 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $94.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern 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.