Roundview Capital LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Roundview Capital LLC lessened its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 62.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,912 shares during the quarter. Roundview Capital LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 120.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Seven 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.56.

Southern Trading Down 0.4%

SO opened at $93.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $105.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

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.