Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Sells 328 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 328 shares during the period. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Southern by 168.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Southern by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $83.84 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.67. The firm has a market cap of $91.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.