Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $7.78 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,649 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,673 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Southern were worth $7,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,465,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its stake in Southern by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.2%

Southern stock traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $95.89. The company had a trading volume of 3,889,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,746,753. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm's fifty day moving average is $90.04 and its 200-day moving average is $88.60. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.42.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.53.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the 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 $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.