The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Sunburst Financial Group LLC

Sunburst Financial Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 232 shares during the period. Sunburst Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on SO. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $86.79 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.35 and its 200-day moving average is $86.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.