MetLife Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 284,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,331 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $25,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Southern by 3.8% during the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Southern by 5.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 4.5% in the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in Southern by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $89.59. 118,303 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,424,291. The company has a market cap of $98.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share 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 12.78%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Company 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.