Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 25,275 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 283,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,275 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $24,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.85.

Southern Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $91.80 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $95.82 and a 200-day moving average of $91.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. 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 business 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 firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. 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 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 75.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.