Southern Company (The) $SO Stock Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 19.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 97,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 23,768 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in Southern by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 50,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,887,000 after buying an additional 11,448 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Southern by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 92,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,908,000 after acquiring an additional 14,798 shares during the last quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $1,908,000. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at about $3,059,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Southern by 4.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,895,000 after purchasing an additional 392,210 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 3.7%

NYSE SO opened at $93.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.31. Southern Company has a one year low of $81.69 and a one year high of $99.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $87.63 and its 200-day moving average is $91.97.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.50 price objective for the company. DA Davidson set a $98.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.