Southern Company (The) $SO Stock: Park Avenue Securities LLC Decreases Stake

Park Avenue Securities LLC cut its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 28.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,369 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Southern by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,895,000 after acquiring an additional 392,210 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,793,000 after acquiring an additional 508,149 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Southern by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,895,000 after acquiring an additional 216,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,932,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $280,715,000 after purchasing an additional 54,111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.78 and its 200-day moving average is $92.35. The stock has a market cap of $107.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.31. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $81.69 and a 52-week high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. DA Davidson set a $98.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.24.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern’s electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.