Confluence Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,648,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,211 shares during the period. Southern makes up about 1.9% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $135,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 140,151 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $292,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 219.4% during the third quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 6,162 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Southern Price Performance
Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $82.35. 483,321 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,380,445. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $86.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.90. The stock has a market cap of $90.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. 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 one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Southern
In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.
Read Our Latest Research Report on SO
Southern Company Profile
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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