The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $84.53 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.37 and its 200-day moving average is $86.69. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on SO. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.