Empower Advisory Group LLC Boosts Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,401,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,606 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.13% of Southern worth $115,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 766,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,136,000 after purchasing an additional 26,990 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Southern by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 267,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,044,000 after acquiring an additional 7,122 shares during the last quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $463,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $149,000. Finally, Americana Partners LLC increased its position in Southern by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 74,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,132,000 after acquiring an additional 3,784 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on SO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $85.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $93.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.84. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Southern Company 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.