National Bank of Canada FI Has $25.31 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 65.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 324,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 618,785 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Southern were worth $25,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $631,068,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Southern by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,444,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,153,065,000 after purchasing an additional 5,707,845 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at about $128,413,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 6,303.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Southern by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,457,000 after purchasing an additional 934,447 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:SO traded down $0.60 on Thursday, hitting $82.07. 1,686,742 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,442,229. The company has a market cap of $89.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.41. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $83.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SO. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.50.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,026 shares of company stock worth $2,151,644. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.