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

Capital International Sarl raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 35.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,912 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at $655,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Southern by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Southern by 2.7% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after purchasing an additional 13,392 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

Southern stock opened at $92.74 on Monday. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. 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 stock has a market cap of $104.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $94.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore upgraded Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

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.