UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $381.38 Million Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC reduced its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,229,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 529,364 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $381,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Southern by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 190,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,195,000 after buying an additional 5,242 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its stake in Southern by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 7,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Southern by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 213,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,297,000 after purchasing an additional 9,689 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 40,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,693,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.47.

Southern Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $89.74 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.00. 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 company has a market cap of $98.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.