BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Reduces Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S cut its Southern Company stake by 26.9% in the first quarter, selling 18,119 shares and leaving it with 49,147 shares worth about $4.74 million.
• Southern delivered better-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $1.32 versus estimates of $1.21 and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8.0% from a year earlier.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a Hold overall with an average price target of $99.15.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S trimmed its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 26.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,147 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,119 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Southern were worth $4,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Gentry Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2.3% during the third quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. grew its position in Southern by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. grew its position in Southern by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 11,528 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.15.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $93.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $105.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $93.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.12.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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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