Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $139.54 Million Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,445,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 23,405 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Southern worth $139,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $94.59 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $106.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.33.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on SO. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.26.

Southern 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.