The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,039 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 17,272.6% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,320,866,000 after buying an additional 14,562,689 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 8,741.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $135,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,485,816 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Southern by 2,719.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,670,000 after acquiring an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 7,657.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,304,000 after purchasing an additional 563,785 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 21.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,572,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $199,528,000 after purchasing an additional 452,075 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE SO opened at $89.74 on Friday. 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 Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.00. The stock has a market cap of $98.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was 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 directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.47.

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.