Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. Has $1.58 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for 1.1% of Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Southern by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 244.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 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 owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $84.53 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.65. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Southern

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.