Vest Financial LLC Has $4.82 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,995 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Southern by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in Southern by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after buying an additional 1,643,090 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1,518.4% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,880,000 after purchasing an additional 979,587 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 790.6% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 811,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,542,000 after purchasing an additional 720,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped 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. Seven investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.08.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $93.59 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.09. The stock has a market cap of $105.60 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.