Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases 10,400 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in Southern Company by 132.1% in the first quarter, buying an additional 10,400 shares and bringing its total holding to 18,270 shares worth about $1.76 million.
• Southern reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.32 versus estimates of $1.21 and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% year over year.
• The utility also raised its dividend to $0.76 per share quarterly, or $3.04 annually, for a yield of about 3.1%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with a target price of $99.26.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 132.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,270 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 10,400 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Southern were worth $1,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $655,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 11.5% in the 2nd 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 raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the 2nd 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 institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $109.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $93.49 and a 200-day moving average of $92.33.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Wall Street Zen raised Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.26.

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.

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