Pathstone Holdings LLC Has $11.65 Million Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Pathstone Holdings LLC cut its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 16.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 26,345 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $11,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 168.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Southern by 31.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at $52,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $87.97 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business's 50-day moving average price is $89.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.57. The stock has a market cap of $96.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.27.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business'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 approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern 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.