Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Apella Capital LLC

Apella Capital LLC grew its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 66.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,356 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Southern by 320.3% in the third 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 grew its holdings in Southern by 83.8% in the second 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 lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1,518.4% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,880,000 after acquiring an additional 979,587 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 790.6% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 811,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,542,000 after acquiring an additional 720,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after acquiring an additional 543,517 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $96.76 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.63 and its 200-day moving average is $92.09. The company has a market cap of $106.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.32%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.08.

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.