Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 984,844 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Southern Company by 11.8%, selling 984,844 shares to hold approximately 0.67% of the company worth around $675 million.
• An array of institutional investors have adjusted their positions in Southern, with 64.10% of the company now owned by these entities, highlighting significant investor interest.
• Southern Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, with an annual yield of 3.1%, and has a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,342,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 984,844 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.67% of Southern worth $675,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,000,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $945,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Southern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,815,000 after purchasing an additional 15,923 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $94.75. The stock had a trading volume of 4,148,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,395,827. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm's 50 day moving average is $91.95 and its 200 day moving average is $89.80. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Southern Company Profile

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.