State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 9,895 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 146,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,895 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Southern were worth $10,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank lifted its position in Southern by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC boosted its holdings in Southern by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 11,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $77.72 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $80.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.