Csenge Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO – Free Report) by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 68,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,586 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,895,000 after buying an additional 392,210 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at about $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Southern by 9.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $543,793,000 after acquiring an additional 508,149 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Southern by 0.5% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,785,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $313,785,000 after acquiring an additional 19,239 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Southern by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,895,000 after acquiring an additional 216,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.
Southern Price Performance
Shares of Southern stock opened at $93.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $108.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.53. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $81.69 and a twelve month high of $99.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.84.
Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.23. Southern had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The firm had revenue of $8.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Southern Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.25%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Southern
In other news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total value of $306,002.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,927,453.66. This represents a 9.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have commented on SO. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.32.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on SO
About Southern
Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States. Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.
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