Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 23,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,969,000. Southern accounts for approximately 1.5% of Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its position in Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 5.8% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

Southern Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $83.84 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization 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 Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.67.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

About Southern

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.