Confluence Investment Management LLC Has $150.84 Million Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Confluence Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,672,649 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 32,913 shares during the period. Southern comprises approximately 2.0% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Southern worth $150,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Consolidated Planning Corp lifted its stake in Southern by 1.6% during the third quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 19,664 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,773,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 6.4% during the third quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 8,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $800,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,351,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $121,835,000 after acquiring an additional 52,799 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 35,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,231,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Southern news, 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 value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO traded up $1.71 on Friday, reaching $88.64. 3,800,991 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,461,732. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $89.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.75. 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 firm has a market cap of $97.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.27.

About Southern

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.