Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 5,548,980 Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has made a significant investment of $510.23 million in Southern Company by purchasing 5,548,980 shares, representing a 0.50% stake in the company.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Southern Company’s stock, with some raising their price targets but maintaining ratings of either hold or neutral, reflecting cautious optimism about its prospects.
• Southern Company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, yielding 3.1% annually, with a strong dividend payout ratio of 76.09%.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,548,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $510,229,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.50% of Southern as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,582,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,724 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Southern by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $889,490,000 after purchasing an additional 460,594 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 1.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,680,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $614,297,000 after purchasing an additional 81,066 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,794,000 after acquiring an additional 979,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Southern by 325.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $355,864,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,527 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $94.25. The stock had a trading volume of 5,252,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,203,480. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $103.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $92.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.04.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.