Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Purchases New Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 194,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,019,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $92.06 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.85. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SO. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore raised Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Southern Company Profile

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.