Slocum Gordon & Co LLP Lowers Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Slocum Gordon & Co LLP trimmed its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 99.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 907,302 shares during the period. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP’s holdings in Southern were worth $119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, 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. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $83.72 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week 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.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.