Swiss National Bank Acquires 15,300 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.30% of Southern worth $292,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised 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 worth $1,320,866,000 after purchasing an additional 14,562,689 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after buying an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 8,741.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $135,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,485,816 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 2,719.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,670,000 after acquiring an additional 841,435 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Southern by 7,657.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,304,000 after acquiring an additional 563,785 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho cut Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.27.

Insider Transactions at Southern

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 owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.3 %

SO traded up $1.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.93. The company had a trading volume of 4,464,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,426,315. The business's fifty day moving average price is $89.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.37. 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 Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $96.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

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.