Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. Purchases 5,200 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Arrowpoint Investment Partners significantly increased its stake in Southern Company by 192.6% during the first quarter, purchasing 5,200 additional shares, bringing its total holdings to 7,900 shares valued at $726,000.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the last quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.99, despite higher-than-expected revenue of $6.97 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, set to be paid on September 8th, which results in an annualized yield of 3.1%.

Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 192.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the quarter. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd.'s holdings in Southern were worth $726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.6%

Southern stock traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $94.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,252,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,203,507. The company has a 50 day moving average of $92.38 and a 200-day moving average of $90.09. The stock has a market cap of $103.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38. 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 one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. KeyCorp downgraded Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. boosted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.