Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 46.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,539 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 51,472 shares during the period. Southern makes up about 0.9% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $14,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Southern by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,721,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 8,741.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $135,524,000 after buying an additional 1,485,816 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Southern by 2,719.7% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,670,000 after purchasing an additional 841,435 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position 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 during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Southern by 35.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,929,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,457,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.88. 2,498,736 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,411,693. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The company's 50 day moving average is $89.31 and its 200 day moving average is $82.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.57%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SO. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.07.

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.