11,932 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Acquired by Dougherty & Associates LLC

Dougherty & Associates LLC bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 11,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,040,000. Southern comprises about 0.9% of Dougherty & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,358,000 after acquiring an additional 543,517 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $4,852,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its position in Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,513,000 after acquiring an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,966,000 after acquiring an additional 47,451 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $92.56 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.77. The company has a market cap of $104.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on SO shares. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Finally, Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.85.

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.