iA Global Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Southern Company by 29.1%, resulting in ownership of 218,748 shares valued at approximately $20.11 million.
• The CEO of Southern Company, Kimberly S. Greene, recently sold 13,158 shares for over $1.25 million, decreasing her direct ownership by 12.32%.
• Southern Company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share which will be paid to investors on September 8th, providing an annualized payout of $2.96 and a yield of 3.1%.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 29.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 218,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 89,781 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $20,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp boosted its holdings in Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Elequin Capital LP grew its position in shares of Southern by 60.6% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.56 on Thursday, hitting $95.24. The stock had a trading volume of 4,162,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,522,047. The stock has a market cap of $104.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 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. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $96.44. The company's 50 day moving average price is $91.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.29.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.