Congress Asset Management Co. Increases Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its position in Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 5.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 4.5% in the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Southern by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SO. Scotiabank raised 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. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho raised their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment 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, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $85.82 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.99 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.41 and its 200 day moving average is $86.82. The stock has a market cap of $94.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG 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.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. 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 presently 66.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.