Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Buys 114,601 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 73.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,601 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $23,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Southern by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 26,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,394,000 after buying an additional 4,915 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 2,094 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $95.51 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $93.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.83. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

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.