OneAscent Wealth Management LLC Makes New $2.73 Million Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

OneAscent Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 30,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,726,000. Southern comprises about 1.0% of OneAscent Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Southern by 17,272.6% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 14,562,689 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after buying an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 8,741.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $135,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485,816 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 2,719.7% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,670,000 after acquiring an additional 841,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 7,657.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,304,000 after acquiring an additional 563,785 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Mizuho downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.27.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $87.71. 332,626 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,424,709. The company has a market cap of $96.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.37. 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 Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. 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.