Cullen Investment Group LTD. Cuts Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Cullen Investment Group LTD. trimmed its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,166 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,084,885,000 after buying an additional 510,080 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Southern by 320.3% during 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 buying an additional 25,567,431 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $1,179,715,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,628,000 after acquiring an additional 285,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:SO opened at $94.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $93.16 and a 200 day moving average of $91.78. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.32%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, 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 transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.08.

Southern Company 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.