Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Southern Company by 35.8%, owning 71,007 shares after selling 39,551 shares during the first quarter.
• The CEO, Kimberly S. Greene, sold 13,158 shares of Southern Company stock, resulting in a 12.32% decrease in her position, with CEO holdings valued at approximately $8.9 million.
• Research analysts have provided mixed ratings for Southern Company, with one sell rating, ten hold ratings, and five buy ratings, reflecting a consensus "Hold" and a target price of approximately $93.53.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 35.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,007 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 39,551 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $6,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,050,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,056,441,000 after purchasing an additional 528,870 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Southern by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $889,490,000 after acquiring an additional 460,594 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 979,756 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,307,527 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,617,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $240,684,000 after purchasing an additional 22,803 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.53.

Southern Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:SO traded up $0.25 on Thursday, reaching $95.15. 2,423,148 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,115,426. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $91.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.23. The company has a market capitalization of $104.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.