OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Acquires Shares of 82,207 Southern Company (The) $SO

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 82,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,868,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Southern by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after buying an additional 5,436,212 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,381,344,000 after buying an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,111,450,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern Trading Up 1.3%

SO opened at $90.10 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.45 and a 200-day moving average of $94.44. The stock has a market cap of $103.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s payout ratio is 72.90%.

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.