Wagner Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its position in Southern by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 12,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $493,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $198,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 62,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,166,000 after purchasing an additional 7,316 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its position in Southern by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 26,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $84.53 on Monday. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $83.37 and its 200 day moving average is $86.69. The stock has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank lifted their target price 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, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.