Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Odyssean LLC

Odyssean LLC grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 105.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,222 shares during the period. Odyssean LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $89.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $103.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.09.

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.