Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Trims Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Southern were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. TFG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 28,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 15,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 4,625 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Platform Technology Partners boosted its holdings in Southern by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 3,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $635,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on SO shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on 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 increased their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $84.53 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.