Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co Acquires New Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co acquired a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 16,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,531,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,006,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,329,000. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,077,000. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,077,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE SO opened at $92.22 on Thursday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $106.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.34. 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.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. KeyCorp cut Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Seven 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.