Trust Point Inc. Purchases 273 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 244.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $84.03 on Tuesday. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.64.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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