OneAscent Financial Services LLC Buys Shares of 10,467 Southern Company (The) $SO

OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $91.47 on Friday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $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 (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.09.

About Southern

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.