Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Buys 7,625 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 61.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,625 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,358,000 after acquiring an additional 543,517 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,813,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,852,000. Finally, Shelton Capital Management increased its holdings in Southern by 700.6% during the second quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 161,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,841,000 after buying an additional 141,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of SO stock opened at $90.85 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $88.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.31. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $100.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SO. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.