Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Boosts Stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,649 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing 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 & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. Investors Research Corp raised its position in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Elequin Capital LP increased its position in Southern by 60.6% during the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.53.

Southern Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:SO traded down $0.65 on Wednesday, reaching $95.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,353,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,745,185. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market cap of $104.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $90.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

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.