OLD Republic International Corp Trims Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

OLD Republic International Corp decreased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 969,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 180,000 shares during the period. Southern accounts for approximately 2.2% of OLD Republic International Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. OLD Republic International Corp owned approximately 0.09% of Southern worth $65,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CNB Bank raised its stake in Southern by 186.2% during the second quarter. CNB Bank now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Karp Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 1,944.4% during the third quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.78% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $67.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.74. The firm has a market cap of $73.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $58.85 and a 52-week high of $80.57.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. Southern had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 82.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Southern from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 1,282 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total transaction of $85,381.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,512 shares in the company, valued at $1,832,299.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 1,282 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total value of $85,381.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,832,299.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 14,546 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.95, for a total value of $1,032,038.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,786 shares in the company, valued at $8,569,766.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,680 shares of company stock valued at $1,174,768. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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The Southern Co is a holding company, which engages in the generation and sale of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Traditional Electric Operating Companies, Southern Power and Southern Company Gas. The Traditional Electric Operating Companies segment refers to vertically integrated utilities that own generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and supplies electric services in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi.