State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 8,040 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,040 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Southern were worth $9,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 2,785.8% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after buying an additional 543,517 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,852,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,966,000 after buying an additional 47,451 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.69.

Southern Stock Down 1.2%

Southern stock opened at $95.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.28 and its 200-day moving average is $92.19. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.