Prudential PLC Lowers Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its stake in Southern Company by 39.2%, now holding 48,346 shares valued at approximately $4.45 million after selling 31,159 shares last quarter.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the analysts' expectations, while revenue increased by 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing a yield of 3.1%, with the payout ratio at 76.09%.

Prudential PLC lowered its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 39.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 31,159 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Southern were worth $4,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the first quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $945,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,815,000 after purchasing an additional 15,923 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE SO opened at $94.80 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.04. The stock has a market cap of $104.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, KeyCorp cut 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 report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.29.

Southern Company 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.

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