Wealthfront Advisers LLC Sells 7,403 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,403 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $14,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial began coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.08.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $94.46 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.08. The company has a market capitalization of $106.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 75.32%.

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.