Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases New Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,305,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Uptick Partners LLC grew its position in Southern by 1.5% during the first quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG lifted its stake in Southern by 4.7% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. KeyCorp downgraded Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.09.

Southern Stock Up 1.3%

SO stock opened at $90.10 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $94.45 and its 200 day moving average is $94.44. The stock has a market cap of $103.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.