6,196 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Purchased by Zinnia Wealth Advisory LLC

Zinnia Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after buying an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 243.3% in the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after buying an additional 14,753 shares during the period. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,443,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $2,462,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on SO shares. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.38.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $93.90 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $93.95 and a 200 day moving average of $91.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

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.