Phoenix Financial Ltd. Acquires 6,982 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 205.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Advisory Team LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $398,000. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,724,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 151,069 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 128,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,729 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective 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, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.85.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $95.34 and a 200 day moving average of $91.80. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.