National Bank of Canada FI Sells 368,289 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI has decreased its stake in Southern Company by 41.6%, selling 368,289 shares during the first quarter, resulting in holdings valued at $47.6 million.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 EPS for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimates of $0.99, although it achieved a revenue of $6.97 billion, exceeding expectations.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share on September 8th, which represents a 3.1% yield and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 41.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 518,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 368,289 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Southern were worth $47,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,582,126,000 after buying an additional 1,419,724 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Southern by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $889,490,000 after purchasing an additional 460,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Southern by 1.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,680,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $614,297,000 after purchasing an additional 81,066 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Southern by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,794,000 after purchasing an additional 979,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Southern by 325.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $355,864,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,527 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE SO traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $94.80. 5,477,988 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,203,186. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.01. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The firm has a market cap of $104.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a PEG 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 (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.

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.