Strs Ohio Has $27.04 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Strs Ohio grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 280,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,446 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Southern were worth $27,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. raised its position in Southern by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 11,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Enterprises LLC raised its position in Southern by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 45,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,927,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.26.

Southern Stock Down 0.1%

SO stock opened at $97.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $110.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.34. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.75. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

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.