Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 50,448 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,469,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,448 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $128,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on SO. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. 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. KeyCorp raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.85.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $93.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.97. The stock has a market cap of $105.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. 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 dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s 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 $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.