Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $2.58 Million Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,863 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of 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. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.50.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,026 shares of company stock valued at $2,151,644. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $82.17. 4,010,104 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,083,865. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $83.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

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.