Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 67.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 32,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,914 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550,570 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 8,741.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $135,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485,816 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Southern by 2,719.7% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,670,000 after purchasing an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 7,657.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,304,000 after purchasing an additional 563,785 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 35.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,929,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,457,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:SO opened at $94.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $89.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.20. The company has a market capitalization of $102.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.18.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 68.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern 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 owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.