Uhlmann Price Securities LLC Buys Shares of 107,523 Southern Company (The) $SO

Uhlmann Price Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 107,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,106,000. Southern makes up approximately 0.7% of Uhlmann Price Securities LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Southern by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 18,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at about $270,000. Old North State Trust LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 28,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,472,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $836,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

SO opened at $93.23 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $93.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.