The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Position Lessened by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 109,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,027 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Southern were worth $9,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Southern by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:SO traded up $1.19 on Friday, hitting $89.94. 10,681,858 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,526,481. The stock has a market cap of $98.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.89 and a 200-day moving average of $87.25. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $76.96 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.64%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp downgraded Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.21.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.