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

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 172.8% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 83,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,677,000 after buying an additional 52,890 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Southern by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 8,384 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its position in Southern by 176.1% during the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 22,062 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 14,072 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 444.0% during the 1st quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. Finally, OneAscent Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 108.7% during the 1st quarter. OneAscent Family Office LLC now owns 9,120 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 4,750 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.14 on Friday, hitting $95.14. 617,317 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,102,362. 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 company has a market capitalization of $104.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The company's fifty day moving average is $90.74 and its 200 day moving average is $88.88.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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 company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.