Capital International Investors Sells 8,412,251 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Capital International Investors cut its Southern Company stake by 42.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 8.41 million shares and leaving it with 11.24 million shares valued at about $980.6 million.
• Southern posted solid quarterly results, earning $1.32 per share versus the $1.21 estimate, while revenue rose 8% year over year to $8.40 billion.
• The utility also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, implying an annualized payout of $3.04 and a yield of about 3.3%.

Capital International Investors reduced its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 42.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,244,052 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,412,251 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned 1.02% of Southern worth $980,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $92.74 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.83. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 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 (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern's payout ratio is 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern 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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