Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $753,000 in Southern Company (The) $SO

Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $753,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Southern by 120.1% in the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:SO opened at $94.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $104.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.44. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.78. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 target price on Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Six 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company 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.