Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC Takes Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 117,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,699,000. Southern comprises approximately 2.6% of Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $217,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 148,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,245,000 after acquiring an additional 5,836 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 9,665.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 269,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,170,000 after acquiring an additional 266,561 shares in the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 28,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,383,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 68,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,602,000 after buying an additional 1,365 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This 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 available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SO. Mizuho boosted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank boosted 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

Southern Trading Down 0.2 %

SO opened at $83.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $91.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $83.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.65. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern Announces Dividend

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