abrdn plc Raises Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

abrdn plc grew its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 72.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 448,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 188,814 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Southern were worth $31,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $488,461,000 after buying an additional 2,096,988 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,518,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838,857 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 6,303.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,812 shares during the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 8,375.3% during the third quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 849,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,989,000 after purchasing an additional 839,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,480,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,558,000 after buying an additional 485,562 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Southern Stock Up 1.2 %

SO opened at $72.99 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.18. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.