The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 502,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,729 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $35,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.1% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its position in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 4,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.14.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $68.73 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $68.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,222.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,446,113 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.