Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Makes New $17.02 Million Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR opened a new position in Southern Company during the fourth quarter, buying 194,925 shares valued at about $17.02 million.
• Southern’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $1.32 versus the $1.21 consensus and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% from a year earlier.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, implying an annualized dividend of $3.04 and a yield of about 3.3%.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 194,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,019,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,800,000. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,900,350 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $252,911,000 after buying an additional 146,674 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $215,000. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $700,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 66,609 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,808,000 after buying an additional 3,604 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $92.06 on Monday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $103.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.61 and a 200-day moving average of $91.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

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 (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern's payout ratio is 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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