Pitcairn Co. Sells 712 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Pitcairn Co. trimmed its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,636 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 712 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 17,272.6% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,320,866,000 after buying an additional 14,562,689 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,405,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $577,657,000 after purchasing an additional 52,414 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $292,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Southern by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,718,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $245,113,000 after purchasing an additional 145,810 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 3.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,619,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $236,271,000 after purchasing an additional 82,946 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:SO opened at $89.33 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $89.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.94. The company has a market cap of $97.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was 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 owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim upped their price target 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, Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.47.

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.