Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by TIAA Trust National Association

Key Points

• TIAA Trust National Association increased its stake in Southern Company (NYSE: SO) by 4.7% in Q1, owning 226,358 shares worth approximately $20.8 million.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock, resulting in a 12.32% reduction in her position, now valued at nearly $8.9 million.
• Southern Company's quarterly earnings were $0.91 per share, missing estimates, while revenue grew by 7.9% to $6.97 billion, exceeding expectations.

TIAA Trust National Association boosted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 226,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,150 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association's holdings in Southern were worth $20,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,000,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,815,000 after acquiring an additional 15,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Little House Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 145.6% during the 1st quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 28,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 16,771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp cut Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.

Southern Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE SO opened at $94.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $104.37 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company 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 firm's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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