The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,292,556 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 126,470 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.12% of Southern worth $90,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank increased its position in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SO. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.36.

Southern Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE SO traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $73.26. 6,054,387 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,689,873. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.18. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The firm has a market cap of $80.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The firm's revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.