New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,138,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,504 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.10% of Southern worth $104,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SO. BTIG Research began coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.03.

Southern Stock Up 0.6%

SO stock opened at $90.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $93.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.47.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 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%.

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.