North Dakota State Investment Board Invests $3.30 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 37,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,295,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Southern by 2,785.8% during the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,358,000 after buying an additional 543,517 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $4,852,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its position in Southern by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,513,000 after buying an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,966,000 after buying an additional 47,451 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.85.

Southern Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE SO opened at $93.80 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $95.27 and its 200 day moving average is $91.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $105.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is 75.32%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, 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 approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.