Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,064,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 74,099 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.10% of Southern worth $100,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Southern Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $89.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $87.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.65. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $82.78 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. 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 note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.91.

Southern Company 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.