Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Acquires 17,451 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 197.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,451 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $89.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $102.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.33. The stock's 50-day moving average is $93.09 and its 200-day moving average is $94.21. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.Southern's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. KeyCorp lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an energy holding company that provides electricity and natural gas services through a group of regulated utility subsidiaries. Its electric utilities generate, transmit and distribute power to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while its gas businesses distribute natural gas and provide related energy services.

The company's principal electric subsidiaries include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power. Southern Company also operates Southern Nuclear, which manages the company's nuclear generation interests, including the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia.

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