Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 28.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,797 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Southern were worth $5,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,000,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $945,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,815,000 after acquiring an additional 15,923 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Southern Stock Performance
NYSE:SO traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $94.25. 5,252,457 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,366,870. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $96.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.09.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 76.09%.
Insider Transactions at Southern
In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.
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About Southern
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Free Report)
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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