Certuity LLC Purchases 493 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Certuity LLC increased its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 493 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $86.85 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.33 and a 200 day moving average of $86.77. 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 company has a market capitalization of $95.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

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.