Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Stock Holdings Lessened by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in Southern Company by 1.8%, holding 324,533 shares valued at approximately $29.84 million after selling 6,088 shares.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.96 and a yield of 3.1%.
• Southern Company's recent earnings report revealed $0.91 EPS, missing estimates by $0.08, but the quarterly revenue grew 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 324,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,088 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Southern were worth $29,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SO. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Southern by 325.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $355,864,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,527 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Southern by 11,230.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,954,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $179,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,965 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southern by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,582,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,724 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,794,000 after buying an additional 979,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,747.3% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 896,323 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $73,785,000 after buying an additional 847,803 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $94.75 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $96.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $91.95 and a 200-day 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 (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Two equities 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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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