Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Invests $4.17 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 47,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,173,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Capital World Investors increased its position in Southern by 320.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after acquiring an additional 25,567,431 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Southern by 83.8% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1,518.4% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,880,000 after purchasing an additional 979,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 790.6% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 811,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,542,000 after purchasing an additional 720,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore raised Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.85.

Southern Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.68 on Thursday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.77.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

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.