Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC Buys 6,089 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 6,089 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $1,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Southern by 45.9% in 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 increased its stake 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 valued at $135,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,485,816 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in 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 worth $67,670,000 after acquiring an additional 841,435 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 563,785 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $2.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $88.54. 6,816,792 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,461,904. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $96.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.69 and a 200-day moving average of $83.01.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Southern's payout ratio is 68.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company'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 directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.