Nuveen LLC Purchases New Shares in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,548,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $510,229,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Southern by 23.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 4.1% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern by 0.4% during the first quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,000,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at $945,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,815,000 after buying an additional 15,923 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.6%

Southern stock opened at $94.75 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $104.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $91.95 and a 200 day moving average of $89.90.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.