The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stake Trimmed by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,298,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,811 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Southern worth $100,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Capital Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 666.7% in the second quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $206,000. Tobam boosted its position in Southern by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 3,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. AM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 81,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 5.5% in the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 25,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $86.40 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 one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $89.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.52. The company has a market capitalization of $94.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus boosted their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625 in the last ninety days. 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.