2,426 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Purchased by MBA Advisors LLC

MBA Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 2,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southern by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after buying an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Southern by 5.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,718,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $245,113,000 after acquiring an additional 145,810 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,542,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $197,192,000 after purchasing an additional 51,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Southern by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,380,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $184,694,000 after purchasing an additional 297,012 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $91.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $100.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.50 and its 200 day moving average is $82.76. 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 Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.15%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.07.

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.