North Dakota State Investment Board Invests $3.30 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board opened a new position in Southern Company, buying 37,792 shares worth about $3.3 million in the fourth quarter.
• Southern’s latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $1.32 versus the $1.21 estimate and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share, and analysts currently have a Hold consensus with an average price target of $99.85.

North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 37,792 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,295,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $91,000. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 28,259 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC boosted its position in Southern by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 6,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan boosted its position in Southern by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,772 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 5,840 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on SO shares. KeyCorp raised Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on Southern and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Evercore raised Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.85.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $93.80 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $95.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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