Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,351,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 52,799 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $121,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Southern by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $88.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. 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) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wolfe Research lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.27.

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.