Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Sells 6,514 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB cut its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,514 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 5.5% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Southern by 22.2% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 13,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,476 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $228,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its holdings in Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 7,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.2% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $84.53 on Monday. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $83.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern 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.