Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $5.94 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 82,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,436 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Southern were worth $5,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Southern by 62.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 3,628.6% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.6 %

Southern stock traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $82.17. 4,010,104 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,083,865. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $83.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $79.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,026 shares of company stock valued at $2,151,644 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.