OneAscent Wealth Management LLC Buys New Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

OneAscent Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 30,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,726,000. Southern makes up approximately 1.0% of OneAscent Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Southern by 17,272.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 14,562,689 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Southern by 45.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,721,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 8,741.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $135,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485,816 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Southern by 2,719.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,670,000 after acquiring an additional 841,435 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 7,657.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,304,000 after buying an additional 563,785 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SO. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.27.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $88.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,991,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,444,091. The stock has a market cap of $96.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Southern 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.