Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 213,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,689 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Southern were worth $19,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 14,562,689 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,405,596 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $577,657,000 after purchasing an additional 52,414 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $292,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Southern by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,718,040 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $245,113,000 after buying an additional 145,810 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Southern by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,619,995 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $236,271,000 after buying an additional 82,946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $89.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,363,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,430,489. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.08. 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. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Southern's payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.47.

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.