The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stock Holdings Lessened by Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC

Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC trimmed its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 657 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for 1.2% of Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Abel Hall LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC increased 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 worth $256,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 4.3% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 8.0% in the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SO. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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 increased their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $91.54 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.00. The company has a market cap of $100.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $67.53 and a 1 year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.82%.

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.