Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Creative Planning increased its position in Southern by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 368,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,245,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in Southern by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 18,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Southern by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795 shares during the period. Kaydan Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $285,000. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 9,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.0 %

SO stock opened at $86.79 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.35 and a 200 day moving average of $86.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern 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.