Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by M Holdings Securities Inc.

M Holdings Securities Inc. increased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 94.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,966 shares during the quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $94.15 on Thursday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $106.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.91. 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 (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the 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 owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate 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.