Southern Company (The) $SO Stake Boosted by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 184,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,605 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $15,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Southern by 4.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,895,000 after purchasing an additional 392,210 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth about $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Southern by 9.8% in 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 grew its position in Southern by 7.2% in 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 grew its position in Southern by 1.9% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Southern from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.24.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $90.72 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $87.65 and its 200 day moving average is $92.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $104.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.31. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $81.69 and a fifty-two week high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

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.