Intact Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 10.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,110 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $12,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Southern by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $88.50 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $96.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % 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, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.