Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,340,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,657,277 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,337,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,584,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its stake in shares of Southern by 243.3% in the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 14,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,443,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore upgraded Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

SO opened at $92.74 on Monday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 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.