Zions Bancorporation N.A. Reduces Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. cut its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 37.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,157 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 30,654 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.'s holdings in Southern were worth $4,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Southern by 1.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 85,591 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Southern by 8.9% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 187,263 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,887,000 after acquiring an additional 15,274 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Southern by 12.9% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,792 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 4.3% in the third quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 53,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194 shares during the period. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the third quarter worth about $221,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 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 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $86.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,265,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,442,814. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The firm's 50 day moving average is $89.91 and its 200-day moving average is $84.12. 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 $95.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company 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 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 3.32%. Southern's payout ratio is 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.27.

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.