Forsta AP Fonden Acquires 39,300 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 251,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 39,300 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Southern were worth $22,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Southern by 45.9% during 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 buying an additional 7,550,570 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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. raised its position in shares of Southern by 2,719.7% during 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 buying an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted 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 worth $44,304,000 after buying an additional 563,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted 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 valued at $138,457,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho downgraded Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $89.07.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.88. 2,498,779 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,411,693. The company has a market cap of $100.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52. 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 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 price is $89.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

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.