The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,222 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Southern were worth $16,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. CNB Bank grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $73.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.50. The company has a market cap of $80.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.14%.

About Southern

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.