GQG Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• GQG Partners LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Southern Company, selling 14,751,176 shares during the first quarter, resulting in a 99.7% decrease in ownership.
• Southern Company reported earnings of $0.91 EPS for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99, while its revenue increased by 7.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, which will be paid on September 8th, reflecting a 3.2% dividend yield.

GQG Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 99.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,078 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 14,751,176 shares during the quarter. GQG Partners LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $4,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Southern by 1.3% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,879 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,586,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its position in Southern by 6.9% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,780,525 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $255,669,000 after purchasing an additional 180,451 shares during the period. MSH Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 3.9% during the first quarter. MSH Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,036 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the period. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in Southern by 22.7% during the first quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 8,337 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $94.25. The stock had a trading volume of 5,252,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,366,870. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $92.38 and a 200-day moving average of $90.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $103.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

About Southern

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.