Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Sells 5,909 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 257,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,909 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $24,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after buying an additional 543,517 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth $4,852,000. Finally, Shelton Capital Management raised its position in Southern by 700.6% during the second quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 161,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,841,000 after acquiring an additional 141,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore raised shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.08.

Southern Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of SO opened at $96.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $105.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.72.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

About Southern

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.