Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Purchases Shares of 8,036 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,036 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $725,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 8,741.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $135,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485,816 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2,719.7% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,670,000 after purchasing an additional 841,435 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 7,657.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,304,000 after purchasing an additional 563,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Southern by 35.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,929,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $138,457,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:SO traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.71. The company had a trading volume of 4,171,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,453,261. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $89.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $96.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SO. Bank of America upped their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.27.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Company Profile

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.