Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB trimmed its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,514 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Southern were worth $1,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the third quarter worth $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 5.4% in 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 boosted its position in shares of Southern by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,626,000 after purchasing an additional 5,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 140,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.
SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their target price 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. Guggenheim cut Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped 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 research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.79.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Southern
Southern stock opened at $84.53 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $83.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.69. The firm has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month 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.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.
In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern 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 directly owns 88,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.
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.
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