First National Bank of Omaha Purchases Shares of 39,811 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

First National Bank of Omaha acquired a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 39,811 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,590,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 17,272.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 14,562,689 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,405,596 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $577,657,000 after purchasing an additional 52,414 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $292,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Southern by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,718,040 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $245,113,000 after purchasing an additional 145,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,619,995 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $236,271,000 after buying an additional 82,946 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO traded down $0.49 during trading on Monday, reaching $84.32. 3,865,587 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,424,718. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company's 50-day moving average is $89.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $92.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.00.

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.