The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Robbins Farley

Robbins Farley decreased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 743 shares during the period. Robbins Farley’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Southern by 6.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 222,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,087,000 after acquiring an additional 14,380 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 4,172 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,301,000 after purchasing an additional 10,028 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 4,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 6,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $84.03 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 Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $92.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.92 and a 200 day moving average of $86.64.

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 paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.