Summit Wealth Group LLC Co. Takes Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Summit Wealth Group LLC Co. bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Southern by 17.5% during the first 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 last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in Southern by 0.7% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth about $655,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Southern by 11.5% during the second 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 boosted its position in Southern by 2.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.85.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.13 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.81. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $104.98 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

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.