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

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,955,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 114,631 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 1.0% of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Southern were worth $188,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $89.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.26.

Southern Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE SO traded up $0.45 on Friday, hitting $95.62. 3,096,682 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,509,696. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.09. 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 Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $107.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. 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 was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

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.