The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,223 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Southern were worth $6,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.6% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 91,898 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Nwam LLC increased its stake in Southern by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth $5,648,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Southern stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $87.93. 4,464,526 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,443,138. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $89.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.23. The firm has a market cap of $96.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.27.

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.