Public Sector Pension Investment Board Boosts Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.1%, now owning 292,943 shares valued at approximately $26.9 million.
• Southern's CEO, Kimberly S. Greene, sold 13,158 shares at an average price of $95.00, resulting in a 12.32% decrease in her holdings.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, yielding 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 292,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,682 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Southern were worth $26,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southern by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,582,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,724 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Southern by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $889,490,000 after purchasing an additional 460,594 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,680,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $614,297,000 after acquiring an additional 81,066 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $510,229,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,794,000 after purchasing an additional 979,756 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $94.07. 5,588,426 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,192,145. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $92.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SO. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.29.

Southern 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.