OneAscent Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

OneAscent Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 30.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,218 shares during the period. Southern comprises about 1.3% of OneAscent Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $3,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Southern by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $91.82. 3,846,510 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,500,815. The business's 50-day moving average price is $87.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.27. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $67.53 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46.

Remove Ads

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's payout ratio is presently 71.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank increased their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Company Profile

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.