Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Sells 31,583 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in Southern Company by 3.4% after selling 31,583 shares, now holding 885,691 shares valued at approximately $81.4 million.
• Southern Company recently reported earnings of $1.23 per share, exceeding the expected $1.20, while revenue increased by 17% year-over-year to $7.78 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.14% with a payout ratio of 70.64%.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 885,691 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 31,583 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Southern worth $81,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 145.6% in the 1st quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 28,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,601,000 after buying an additional 16,771 shares during the period. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 70.4% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 847 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

SO stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.14. 4,675,263 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,180,246. The company has a market cap of $104.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $91.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 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.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.20.

Southern 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.