OLD Republic International Corp Sells 59,100 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

OLD Republic International Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 711,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 59,100 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 2.5% of OLD Republic International Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. OLD Republic International Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Southern worth $62,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after buying an additional 1,643,090 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Southern by 320.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Southern by 3.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,628,000 after buying an additional 285,546 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Southern by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,265,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $371,938,000 after buying an additional 255,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $94.67 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.79. The stock has a market cap of $106.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.56.

Southern 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.