California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 14.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,197,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 720,825 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.38% of Southern worth $385,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in Southern by 1,428.6% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 309.5% in the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.03.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $86.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $93.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

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.