Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Takes Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. acquired a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,526,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $89.09 on Friday. The stock 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. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 3.4%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.