Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Increases Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for about 2.0% of Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings in Southern were worth $18,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV grew its holdings in Southern by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 3,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in Southern by 388.7% during the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 36,549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,009,000 after acquiring an additional 29,070 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,894 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 7,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 19,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $84.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.37 and a 200 day moving average of $86.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

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.