Keudell Morrison Wealth Management Acquires New Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Keudell Morrison Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $684,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Southern by 320.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after purchasing an additional 25,567,431 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its position in Southern by 83.8% in the second 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Southern by 1,518.4% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,880,000 after acquiring an additional 979,587 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Southern by 790.6% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 811,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,542,000 after acquiring an additional 720,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern 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 owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

SO opened at $94.31 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $95.10 and its 200 day moving average is $91.77. The stock has a market cap of $106.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend 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.