CapWealth Advisors LLC Sells 238 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

CapWealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 238 shares during the period. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Financial Enhancement Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,589 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC increased 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 buying an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 94.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,033,000 after buying an additional 140,151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $85.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.77. 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 stock has a market cap of $93.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target 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. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.