Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group raised its stake in Southern Company by 3.6% to 1,469,170 shares, valued at about $128.1 million at the end of the quarter.
• Southern beat Q1 estimates with $1.32 EPS vs. $1.21 expected and revenue of $8.40 billion (up 8% year-over-year), and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 ($3.04 annualized, a 3.2% yield).
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average price target of $99.85 (seven Buys, twelve Holds, one Sell).

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,469,170 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 50,448 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Southern worth $128,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,127,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at about $655,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,320,000 after acquiring an additional 46,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,392 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.85.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $93.60 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $95.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.97. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $105.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Southern's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

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

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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