Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Sep 15th, 2023

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 13,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $932,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Tanglewood Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. TD Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 122.0% in the first quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $42,000. 62.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $70.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $77.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.52. 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 50 day moving average price of $69.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.95. The Southern Company has a one year low of $58.85 and a one year high of $79.15.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 11.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 21st were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Southern from $79.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Bank of America raised Southern from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southern from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.13.

Check Out Our Latest Report on SO

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.30, for a total transaction of $341,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,569.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,490 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $99,904.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,878,289.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.30, for a total value of $341,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,537,569.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,490 shares of company stock worth $2,934,355 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern 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.