National Pension Service Purchases 279,304 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

National Pension Service grew its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,420,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 279,304 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.22% of Southern worth $218,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at about $376,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Southern by 5.3% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 174,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,491,000 after buying an additional 8,713 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Southern by 286.4% during the first quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 12,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $874,000 after buying an additional 9,028 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in shares of Southern by 16.7% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 22,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after buying an additional 3,255 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:SO opened at $89.03 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $89.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.35. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $97.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 3.26 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group boosted 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. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.27.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.