Nykredit A S Takes $10.39 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S acquired 108,591 shares of Southern Company during the second quarter, valued at approximately $10.39 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, exceeding analysts’ $1.01 consensus, while revenue of $6.98 billion fell short of the $7.23 billion estimate. Shares opened at $85.52, near the company’s 12-month low.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.04 and a 3.6% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $99.85.

Nykredit A S bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 108,591 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,393,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,111,450,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $737,256,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $264,829,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $191,120,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $85.52 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.70. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Southern's payout ratio is 72.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Southern from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.85.

Southern Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an energy holding company that provides electricity and natural gas services through a group of regulated utility subsidiaries. Its electric utilities generate, transmit and distribute power to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while its gas businesses distribute natural gas and provide related energy services.

The company's principal electric subsidiaries include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power. Southern Company also operates Southern Nuclear, which manages the company's nuclear generation interests, including the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia.

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