Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Sculptor Capital LP

Sculptor Capital LP trimmed its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 99.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 36,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 34,964,000 shares during the quarter. Sculptor Capital LP’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gentry Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 2.3% during the third quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s 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 directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

Southern Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of SO opened at $93.82 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $93.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.00. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

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

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.