Vestcor Inc Purchases 60,173 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Vestcor Inc boosted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 41.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 206,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 60,173 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $17,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in Southern by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 71,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after buying an additional 27,920 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,584,000. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,972,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.2%

SO stock opened at $92.74 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.83. The company has a market cap of $104.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Southern 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.