Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service raised its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,451 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.25% of Southern worth $260,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 17.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group lifted its holdings in Southern by 24.6% in the second quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 4,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 69.5% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Southern by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 20,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 167,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,400,000 after purchasing an additional 18,448 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $89.32 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $98.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.46. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $82.78 and a 12 month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. Southern’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on SO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.91.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.