Southern Company (The) $SO Position Boosted by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 204,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,595 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $17,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,895,000 after acquiring an additional 392,210 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,793,000 after purchasing an additional 508,149 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Southern by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,895,000 after purchasing an additional 216,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,932,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,715,000 after purchasing an additional 54,111 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. DA Davidson set a $98.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.24.

Southern Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of SO opened at $93.02 on Thursday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $81.69 and a fifty-two week high of $99.58. The firm has a market cap of $107.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern’s electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.