Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,351,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 52,799 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Southern worth $121,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Southern by 17,272.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,320,866,000 after buying an additional 14,562,689 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 8,741.6% in the third 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. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Southern by 72.4% in the third 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,521,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,203,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Southern by 2,719.7% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,670,000 after purchasing an additional 841,435 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.
Southern Stock Performance
Shares of Southern stock traded up $1.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,711,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,425,100. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $88.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.67. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $90.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business 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%. The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.
Southern Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern's payout ratio is currently 66.98%.
Insider Transactions at Southern
In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have recently commented on SO. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. 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 report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.14.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on SO
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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