Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,035 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Southern were worth $6,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 12.1% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $660,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its position in Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 110,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in Southern by 41.1% in the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 6,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SO. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $87.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.99 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Profile

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.