Swiss National Bank Sells 153,600 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank reduced its Southern Company stake by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 153,600 shares and leaving it with about 3.01 million shares valued at roughly $262.9 million.
• Southern’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $1.32 EPS versus the $1.21 consensus and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share, implying a $3.04 annualized payout and a 3.3% yield; analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average target price of $99.38.

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,014,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 153,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.27% of Southern worth $262,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.38.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $93.37 on Friday. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The company's fifty day moving average price is $94.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $105.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Southern's payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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