Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Sep 9th, 2023

Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern by 10.2% during the first quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.3% during the first quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 4,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,062,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “conviction-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Southern from $79.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.44.

Read Our Latest Report on SO

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $67.93 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $58.85 and a 52 week high of $80.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $69.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 11.17%. The business had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.48, for a total transaction of $357,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 136,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,741,580.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $99,904.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,878,289.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.48, for a total transaction of $357,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 136,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,741,580.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,952,605. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. 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.