Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Sells 110,000 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund decreased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 200,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 110,000 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund's holdings in Southern were worth $18,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho downgraded 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. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.47.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $89.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,363,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,430,489. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.23%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.