Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc reduced its holdings in Southern Company by 5.1% in Q1, currently owning 136,518 shares valued at approximately $12.55 million.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern Company stock for around $1.25 million, leading to a 12.32% decrease in her ownership.
• Southern Company's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $1.23 EPS on $7.78 billion in revenue, marking a 17% year-over-year revenue increase.

Vestcor Inc reduced its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,518 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,351 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Southern were worth $12,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. Investors Research Corp grew its stake in shares of Southern by 400.0% during 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 period. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Elequin Capital LP lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $95.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,806,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,454,948. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $91.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.19. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $96.44. The company has a market capitalization of $104.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The business's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.53.

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.