California Public Employees Retirement System Has $202.54 Million Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• CalPERS cut its Southern Company stake by 26.9% in the first quarter, selling 771,087 shares and leaving it with 2,098,404 shares valued at about $202.5 million.
• Southern reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.32 versus the $1.21 estimate and revenue of $8.40 billion versus $8.07 billion, with revenue up 8% year over year.
• The company raised its dividend to $0.76 per share quarterly, or $3.04 annualized, for a yield of about 3.2%; analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a $99.91 price target.

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 26.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,098,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 771,087 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of Southern worth $202,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $95.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $94.19 and its 200 day moving average is $93.40. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Seven equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.91.

Southern 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.