Realta Investment Advisors lowered its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 74.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,871 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,209 shares during the quarter. Realta Investment Advisors' holdings in Southern were worth $348,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Southern by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,718,040 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $245,113,000 after buying an additional 145,810 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,542,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $197,192,000 after acquiring an additional 51,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Southern by 14.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,380,841 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $184,694,000 after acquiring an additional 297,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $89.27.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on SO
Southern Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $2.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $88.54. 6,817,447 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,060,107. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $96.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.52. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $89.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.
About Southern
(
Free Report)
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.
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