The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Holdings Lowered by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 449,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 52,976 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $32,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,572,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,444,343,000 after acquiring an additional 352,023 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Southern by 53.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,444,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,153,065,000 after purchasing an additional 5,707,845 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Southern by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,811,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $634,988,000 after purchasing an additional 349,122 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $631,068,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,089,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $426,993,000 after buying an additional 111,311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus increased their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.14.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $77.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $77.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.39. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $80.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

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.