Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Has $323,000 Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Southern by 12.1% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 94,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,512,000 after purchasing an additional 10,163 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 10,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 2,719 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its holdings in Southern by 13.1% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 10,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 6.9% in the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 36,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Southern by 5.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 178,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,086,000 after acquiring an additional 9,481 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $83.72 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.59 and its 200-day moving average is $86.65. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $91.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company 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 is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

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.