Noesis Capital Mangement Corp Acquires Shares of 2,320 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Noesis Capital Mangement Corp bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 17,272.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,320,866,000 after buying an additional 14,562,689 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,405,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $577,657,000 after acquiring an additional 52,414 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $292,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Southern by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,718,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $245,113,000 after purchasing an additional 145,810 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,619,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $236,271,000 after purchasing an additional 82,946 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $89.74 on Thursday. 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $89.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company 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.