Stephens Inc. AR Trims Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 45.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 140,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 118,666 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Southern were worth $11,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Southern by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $84.53 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.69. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors 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 yield of 3.41%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley cut 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, 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. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.