Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 237,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,059 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Southern were worth $22,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 1.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,725,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,066 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,377,494,000 after purchasing an additional 241,572 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at about $1,179,715,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,567,000 after purchasing an additional 87,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 9,099.6% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,011,000 after buying an additional 4,373,271 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $94.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.38. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $104.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.91.

About Southern

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.