Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 4,184 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 151,784 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,184 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $13,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $39,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Elequin Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 60.6% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.60. The stock had a trading volume of 5,014,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,708,344. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $101.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $79.30 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.93.

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.