7,989 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Purchased by one8zero8 LLC

one8zero8 LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $765,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Uptick Partners LLC grew its stake in Southern by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.4% during the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,313,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its position in Southern by 0.7% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG boosted its stake in Southern by 4.7% during the 1st 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 period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 0.2%

SO stock opened at $92.22 on Thursday. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently 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.