Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Acquires New Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 184,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,839,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. RB Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $459,000. Glenview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter worth $3,325,000. North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $270,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $6,772,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at $7,810,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE SO opened at $88.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.12 and a 200 day moving average of $94.38. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. 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 quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.98 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date 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 is presently 72.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern 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.