Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO – Free Report) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 316,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,126 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Southern were worth $27,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 17.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $655,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Southern by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,320,000 after acquiring an additional 46,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,268,000 after purchasing an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have issued reports on SO. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.
Southern Stock Up 1.3%
Shares of SO stock opened at $94.15 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $94.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.91. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $106.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.
Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Southern Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Southern Company Profile
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.
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