15,945 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Acquired by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,526,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Uptick Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.3% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG grew its stake in Southern by 4.7% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $89.09 on Friday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. Southern’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued 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 dividend 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.