Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 23rd, 2023

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Southern by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 23,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 2,554 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 26,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. StrategIQ Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. StrategIQ Financial Group LLC now owns 16,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Transform Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 6,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the last quarter. 61.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $66.71 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $58.85 and a twelve month high of $80.57. The firm has a market cap of $72.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.63 and a 200 day moving average of $68.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Southern had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on Southern from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Southern from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.64.

About Southern

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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.