Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 23,405 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,445,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 23,405 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $139,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spirepoint Private Client LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $4,443,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its stake in Southern by 243.3% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after buying an additional 14,753 shares during the last quarter. Bell Bank lifted its holdings in Southern by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 127,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,153,000 after buying an additional 21,751 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $2,462,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $94.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $94.05 and its 200-day moving average is $93.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.26.

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.