The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by National Pension Service

National Pension Service raised its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 13.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,420,890 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 279,304 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.22% of Southern worth $218,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $376,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 174,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,491,000 after buying an additional 8,713 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management grew its holdings in Southern by 286.4% during the 1st quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 12,180 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 9,028 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in shares of Southern by 16.7% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 22,732 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 3,255 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $88.12. 4,725,695 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,463,232. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $89.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.47. The company has a market cap of $96.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Southern's payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.27.

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.