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Alberta Investment Management Corp Increases Position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Southern logo with Utilities background

Key Points

  • Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in Southern Company (The) by 428.2%, acquiring an additional 165,706 shares during the first quarter, raising its total holdings to 204,406 shares valued at approximately $18.8 million.
  • Insider activity reported that CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock for a total of $1,250,010, resulting in a 12.32% decrease in her ownership post-sale.
  • Southern Company disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, which will yield an annualized 3.1% based on a dividend payout ratio of 70.64%.
  • MarketBeat previews top five stocks to own in September.

Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 428.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,406 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 165,706 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Southern were worth $18,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Southern by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 201,316 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,572,000 after purchasing an additional 14,053 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 7,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in Southern by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 22,437 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Southern by 93.4% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,764,000 after acquiring an additional 10,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,451 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $94.27 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.53.

Read Our Latest Report on Southern

Southern Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Southern (NYSE:SO)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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