Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Purchases 30,802 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 32.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,802 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Southern were worth $11,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.1% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 625,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,313,000 after buying an additional 18,966 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 158,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,630 shares during the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 5,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Steinberganna Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SO. TD Cowen started coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 price objective (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 17th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.21.

Southern Stock Down 0.3%

Southern stock opened at $87.00 on Friday. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.50 and a one year high of $100.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $88.27 and a 200 day moving average of $91.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $95.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The business had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.27%.

Southern Company 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.