The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors decreased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 84.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,085 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors’ holdings in Southern were worth $140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% in 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. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Southern by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 244.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $85.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $93.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $83.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.77.

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 issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

About Southern

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.