The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stock Holdings Lifted by SteelPeak Wealth LLC

SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1,502.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 96,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 90,846 shares during the quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $8,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Southern by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,325 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $5,683,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 10.1% in the first quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 16,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,498 shares during the period. AMI Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at $849,000. Finally, Retirement Guys Formula LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at $685,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $89.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,005,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,423,142. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.56 and a 200 day moving average of $82.91. The company has a market capitalization of $97.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.07.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.