The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co lessened its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,025 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Southern were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 421.9% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 2,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 2,278 shares during the period. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 94,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,820,000 after acquiring an additional 44,183 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $8,984,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $85.72 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.79. The company has a market cap of $93.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.