SHP Wealth Management Invests $516,000 in Southern Company (The) $SO

SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the second 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. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth about $655,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Southern by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,320,000 after acquiring an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,392 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $93.23 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.07. 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 Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $105.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on SO. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen raised 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.32.

Southern 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.