Quantinno Capital Management LP Has $6.77 Million Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,083 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,057 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Southern were worth $6,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $52,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. 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 raised their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:SO traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.81. The stock had a trading volume of 4,798,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,858,925. The company has a market cap of $92.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.36. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given 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 3.40%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

Southern Company 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.