Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 28.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 308,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 123,715 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Southern were worth $29,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co lifted its position in Southern by 1,428.6% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.91.

Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $87.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $82.05 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $87.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.75. The company has a market capitalization of $96.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

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.