Phoenix Financial Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 205.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.85.

Southern Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $92.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $104.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.80. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 75.32%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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.