Forsta AP Fonden Purchases 12,500 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Southern Company by **5.0%**, acquiring an additional **12,500 shares** during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to **261,700 shares** worth approximately **$24.06 million**.
• Southern Company reported a net margin of **15.10%** and a quarterly revenue of **$6.97 billion**, which exceeded analyst estimates, although it missed earnings per share expectations by **$0.08**.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of **$0.74** per share, yielding **3.1%**, indicating a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders despite a relatively high **dividend payout ratio of 76.09%**.

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 261,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Southern were worth $24,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp increased its stake in Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP increased its position in shares of Southern by 60.6% during the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.6%

SO traded down $0.60 on Friday, hitting $94.75. 4,148,246 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,395,827. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.