New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $90.63 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,292,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 126,470 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Southern were worth $90,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. CNB Bank lifted its stake in Southern by 1,021.4% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,569,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,643,851. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The stock has a market cap of $80.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $69.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 in the last 90 days. 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.