Liberty One Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 304,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,434 shares during the period. Southern makes up approximately 3.0% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $29,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $96.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $108.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

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.