Sound Income Strategies LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 270.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,854 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 2,785.8% during the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after purchasing an additional 543,517 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at $4,852,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,966,000 after purchasing an additional 47,451 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Six research 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $96.76 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $100.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.32%.

About Southern

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.