RFP Financial Group LLC Decreases Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

RFP Financial Group LLC reduced its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 41.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,762 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,531 shares during the period. Southern makes up about 0.4% of RFP Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. RFP Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mariner LLC boosted its position in Southern by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 436,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,069,000 after buying an additional 44,503 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Southern by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,415,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,521,000 after buying an additional 128,390 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,983,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its position in Southern by 89.6% in the 4th quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 9,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $854,000 after buying an additional 4,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 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 a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $93.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $105.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.