Southern Company (The) $SO Stake Decreased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 249,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Southern were worth $20,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Optivise Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Southern by 3.8% during the third quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.3% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total transaction of $306,002.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,927,453.66. This represents a 9.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $93.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $108.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.30. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $81.69 and a fifty-two week high of $99.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.53.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.23. Southern had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 69.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Capital One Financial set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $98.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.32.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States. Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.