OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 161,372 Southern Company (The) $SO

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 161,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,445,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of 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 issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.09.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $92.83 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.35. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $106.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.