Capital International Sarl Raises Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Capital International Sarl boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 35.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,912 shares during the quarter. Capital International Sarl’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after acquiring an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,584,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 243.3% in the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 14,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,443,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SO. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

Southern Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $92.74 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.26 and a 200 day moving average of $91.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.