Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Invests $1.88 Million in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased 20,414 shares of Southern Company, representing an investment of approximately $1.88 million.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern Company stock, reducing her ownership by 12.32%.
• Southern Company's most recent quarterly earnings missed analysts' expectations, reporting $0.91 EPS against an expectation of $0.99 EPS, despite revenues of $6.97 billion.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 20,414 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,877,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,926,456 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $177,138,000 after acquiring an additional 50,182 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 9,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at $201,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 1.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,680,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $614,297,000 after acquiring an additional 81,066 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Southern by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 27,718 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,549,000 after acquiring an additional 7,206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.60 on Friday, reaching $94.75. 4,148,246 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,395,827. The company's 50-day moving average is $91.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.85. The firm has a market cap of $104.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp cut Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Company Profile

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.