Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co Invests $1.53 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 16,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,531,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $4,443,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 99,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,667,000 after buying an additional 16,878 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,462,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Southern by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,767,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $154,150,000 after buying an additional 969,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake in Southern by 29.2% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 50,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,887,000 after acquiring an additional 11,448 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.2%

Southern stock opened at $92.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced 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%. Southern’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 72.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.