State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Grows Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 382,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,417 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Southern were worth $36,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,358,000 after acquiring an additional 543,517 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth about $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth about $4,852,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in Southern by 23.6% in the second quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Finally, Shelton Capital Management lifted its position in Southern by 700.6% in the second quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 161,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,841,000 after purchasing an additional 141,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 2.6%

Southern stock opened at $94.93 on Monday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $87.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $97.00 to $84.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.91.

Southern Company 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.