Vinva Investment Management Ltd Sells 6,628 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 35.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,975 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,628 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Southern were worth $1,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 0.6% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 244,531 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $22,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Southern by 2.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 190,678 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,195,000 after purchasing an additional 5,242 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.0% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 7,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 213,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,297,000 after acquiring an additional 9,689 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.47.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $89.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The stock has a market cap of $97.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % 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.