Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Cuts Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp reduced its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 181,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 43,922 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $14,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the second quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.0% during the second quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 6,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $89.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.56. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $90.34. 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 stock has a market cap of $97.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.