California State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 124,319,975 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Southern Company stake by 9,736%, acquiring 124.3 million additional shares and bringing its ownership to approximately 10.92%, valued at $12.02 billion.
• Southern reported quarterly earnings of $1.13 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.01, while revenue totaled $6.98 billion. The company expects full-year EPS of $4.59.
• Southern maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to a 3.4% annual yield. Analysts collectively rate the stock “Hold,” with an average price target of $100.09 versus a recent price of $89.09.

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 9,736.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 125,596,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 124,319,975 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 10.92% of Southern worth $12,020,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,443,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,767,773 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $154,150,000 after purchasing an additional 969,493 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 50,628 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,887,000 after purchasing an additional 11,448 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its position in shares of Southern by 114.2% during the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 45,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,934,000 after buying an additional 24,056 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Southern by 19.1% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 92,289 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,908,000 after buying an additional 14,798 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:SO opened at $89.09 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.21. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 72.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on SO shares. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an energy holding company that provides electricity and natural gas services through a group of regulated utility subsidiaries. Its electric utilities generate, transmit and distribute power to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while its gas businesses distribute natural gas and provide related energy services.

The company's principal electric subsidiaries include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power. Southern Company also operates Southern Nuclear, which manages the company's nuclear generation interests, including the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia.

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