B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Acquires New Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 59,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,358,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 1,361.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 2,982 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 241.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 44,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,173,000 after buying an additional 31,292 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Southern by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Southern by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 521,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,410,000 after acquiring an additional 2,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. boosted its position in Southern by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 4,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $88.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $96.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.55. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors 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 3.26%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.