Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Boosts Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 58.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 69,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,631 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Southern by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Southern by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,381,344,000 after purchasing an additional 384,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,111,450,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $96.24 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.21.

About Southern

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.