New York State Teachers Retirement System Increases Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 864,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,300 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.08% of Southern worth $83,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 17.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $655,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,268,000 after purchasing an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $97.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $110.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average is $93.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.71.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.26.

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.