58,431 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Purchased by True Freedom Investing LLC

True Freedom Investing LLC bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 58,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,640,000. Southern comprises about 0.4% of True Freedom Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Uptick Partners LLC raised its position in Southern by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.4% in 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 last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.3% in the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,313,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its stake 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 worth $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.7% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $89.09 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $94.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.40. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $102.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released 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. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

About Southern

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.