OLD National Bancorp IN Has $966,000 Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• OLD National Bancorp IN cut its stake in Southern Company by 76.1% in the first quarter, leaving it with 10,007 shares valued at about $966,000.
• Southern reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.32 versus the $1.21 estimate and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% from a year earlier.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with a target price of $99.26.

OLD National Bancorp IN decreased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 76.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,007 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 31,914 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN's holdings in Southern were worth $966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $4,443,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its holdings in Southern by 243.3% in the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,815,000 after buying an additional 14,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $2,462,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.34. The stock's fifty day moving average is $93.49 and its 200 day moving average is $92.33. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Southern's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.26.

Southern Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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