Sanctuary Advisors LLC Sells 3,076 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 400,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,076 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $34,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Southern by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 244.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SO. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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 on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

Insider Activity

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

Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $85.72 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.81. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $93.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45.

Southern Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.