Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Decreases Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 353,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 195,006 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Southern were worth $29,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $848,019,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $315,290,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in Southern by 72.4% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,077,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $277,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,072 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 4.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,521,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,203,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,790,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,461,710,000 after purchasing an additional 698,422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.1 %

SO stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $91.82. The company had a trading volume of 4,175,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,501,821. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.51 and a 200 day moving average of $87.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $67.53 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $100.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46.

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Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.90 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 71.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.46.

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.