Machina Capital S.A.S. Acquires 29,340 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 29,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,432,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 5,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 62,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,199,000 after purchasing an additional 12,070 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 172,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,273,000 after buying an additional 8,701 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group raised its holdings in Southern by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 68,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,644,000 after buying an additional 6,586 shares during the period. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 159,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,258,000 after buying an additional 2,901 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $93.74 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $88.49 and its 200-day moving average is $92.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $109.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.30. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $81.69 and a 12-month high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $8.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.38 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is 69.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $96.50 to $85.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $98.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.32.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total transaction of $306,002.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares in the company, valued at $2,927,453.66. This represents a 9.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Profile

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States. Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.