Employees Retirement System of Texas Acquires Shares of 106,970 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 106,970 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,298,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 11,202 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $233,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. SCP Investment LP purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Southern by 90.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 6,094 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 2,895 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.42 on Thursday, reaching $88.93. The company had a trading volume of 3,742,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,470,515. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $90.85. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $86.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.32.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. Southern's revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.60.

Southern Company Profile

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.