The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,021,801 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 58,782 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of Southern worth $92,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Southern by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 120.1% during the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 678 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:SO traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $87.93. 4,464,526 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,426,315. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $89.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.30. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $96.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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 paid 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 3.28%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern 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 in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.27.

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.