Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ Buys Shares of 8,100 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ acquired a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Financial Enhancement Group LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at about $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 5.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,772,000 after acquiring an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,626,000 after acquiring an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 94.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after acquiring an additional 140,151 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $83.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.66. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $91.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

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 given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

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.