The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Position Increased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,351,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 52,799 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Southern worth $121,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,521,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,203,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,768 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Southern by 17,272.6% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,320,866,000 after purchasing an additional 14,562,689 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,405,596 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $577,657,000 after buying an additional 52,414 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $292,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Southern by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,077,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $277,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,072 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.3 %

SO stock opened at $82.86 on Friday. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $88.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.63.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Southern's payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.14.

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.