Verity Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 51.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,105 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,723 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 244.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Southern
In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have weighed in on SO. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.79.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Southern
Southern Stock Up 0.8 %
Shares of SO stock traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $83.84. 4,161,495 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,228,448. The company's 50-day moving average price is $83.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.67. The company has a market cap of $91.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.
About Southern
(
Free Report)
The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.
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