Continental Investors Services Inc. Takes $402,000 Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 18th, 2023

Continental Investors Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth $25,000. Karp Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth $40,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth $41,000. Worth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 1,944.4% during the third quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 26.9% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.78% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:SO opened at $67.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.66. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $58.85 and a 52 week high of $80.57. The company has a market cap of $73.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. Southern had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 21st were given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on SO. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southern from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Southern from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Southern from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Southern from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.93.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 1,282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total value of $85,381.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,832,299.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 1,282 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total transaction of $85,381.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,832,299.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 14,546 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.95, for a total value of $1,032,038.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 120,786 shares in the company, valued at $8,569,766.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,680 shares of company stock worth $1,174,768 in the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Company Profile

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The Southern Co is a holding company, which engages in the generation and sale of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Traditional Electric Operating Companies, Southern Power and Southern Company Gas. The Traditional Electric Operating Companies segment refers to vertically integrated utilities that own generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and supplies electric services in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi.