State of Michigan Retirement System Buys 200 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 298,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Southern were worth $21,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eagle Ridge Investment Management boosted its stake in Southern by 0.8% in the first quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management now owns 176,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,658,000 after buying an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 194,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,972,000 after acquiring an additional 53,392 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 3.7% in the first quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 24,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 309.9% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243 shares during the period. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 8,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $77.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $84.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $80.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.