Oakworth Capital Inc. Lowers Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Oakworth Capital Inc. lessened its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,982 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Southern by 17,272.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,320,866,000 after buying an additional 14,562,689 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 8,741.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $135,524,000 after buying an additional 1,485,816 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Southern by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,077,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,570,000 after buying an additional 1,293,072 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,521,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,203,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $51,605,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SO. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target 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, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $83.84 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $91.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45.

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 issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.