The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC

Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 368,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,245,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 10.1% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 19,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,738,000 after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 24,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,204,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 142,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,888,000 after buying an additional 4,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LexAurum Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth about $218,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $85.72 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 3.36%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Scotiabank upped their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upped their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.