The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stock Position Trimmed by Tobam

Tobam decreased its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 727 shares during the period. Tobam’s holdings in Southern were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its position in Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 5.8% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 4.5% during the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $84.53 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.63. The company has a market capitalization of $92.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

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.