The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stake Lifted by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 17,272.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,562,689 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 3.5% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned approximately 1.34% of Southern worth $1,320,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its position in Southern by 3.8% during the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Southern by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $87.92 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.27.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.