Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 249,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Southern were worth $20,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total value of $306,002.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares in the company, valued at $2,927,453.66. This represents a 9.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.0%

Southern stock opened at $93.60 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $81.69 and a fifty-two week high of $99.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.53. The stock has a market cap of $108.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.30.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $8.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 69.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.50 price objective for the company. DA Davidson set a $98.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.32.

Southern Profile

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States. Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.