Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,439,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 147,638 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $235,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $1,111,450,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Southern by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after buying an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its holdings 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 valued at $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $95.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.07. The company has a market cap of $107.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.26.

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.