Choreo LLC Has $4.75 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Choreo LLC lowered its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,048 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Southern by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after purchasing an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in Southern by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Southern by 1,518.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,880,000 after purchasing an additional 979,587 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Southern by 790.6% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 811,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,542,000 after purchasing an additional 720,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,358,000 after buying an additional 543,517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.18 on Monday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $95.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.17. The company has a market capitalization of $109.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.69.

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.