Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 194,124 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,032,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 194,124 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $90,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 320.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after purchasing an additional 25,567,431 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,450,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its position in Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Southern by 1,518.4% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,880,000 after acquiring an additional 979,587 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 1.6%

Southern stock opened at $90.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.47 and a 200 day moving average of $91.83. The stock has a market cap of $101.93 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore upgraded Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.