Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $5.42 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System initiated a new position in Southern Company, buying 56,100 shares worth about $5.42 million in the first quarter.
• Southern reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.32 per share beating estimates and revenue of $8.40 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share, implying a $3.04 annualized payout and a 3.1% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $99.26.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 56,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,415,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,381,344,000 after purchasing an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,111,450,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.26.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $97.00 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $93.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.33. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $109.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. 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 77.35%.

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.

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