The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 428 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Southern were worth $6,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,067,000. Summit Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $1,288,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 382.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,998,000 after acquiring an additional 33,120 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $89.01 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $90.34. The firm has a market cap of $97.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Company 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.