OMC Financial Services LTD Invests $562,000 in Southern Company (The) $SO

OMC Financial Services LTD acquired a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. 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 shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $92.83 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $94.69 and a 200-day moving average of $94.35. The firm has a market cap of $106.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 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 twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Barclays cut their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.