Principle Wealth Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,829 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,772,000 after buying an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC grew its stake in Southern by 2.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 94.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 140,151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SO. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $85.47 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $93.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.71. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.