Natixis Advisors L.P. Purchases 36,572 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 941,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,572 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned 0.09% of Southern worth $65,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 3.1% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank boosted its holdings in Southern by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO traded up $0.52 on Friday, reaching $75.85. 4,469,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,739,155. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,025 shares of company stock worth $1,424,402. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.