O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Has $18.68 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 214,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,941 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $18,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gentry Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 2.3% during the third quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.4% during the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on SO shares. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.38.

Southern Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $92.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.13 and a 200-day moving average of $91.87. The stock has a market cap of $104.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’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 directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.