Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Decreases Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,069,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,038 shares during the period. Southern accounts for approximately 0.9% of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned about 0.19% of Southern worth $180,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Southern by 2.3% during the third quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $92.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.84. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $103.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

About Southern

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.