Cullinan Associates Inc. Lowers Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Cullinan Associates Inc. cut its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 41.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 76,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 54,885 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Financial Enhancement Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,772,000 after buying an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC grew its stake in Southern by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,626,000 after buying an additional 5,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after acquiring an additional 140,151 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by 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 that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $84.03 on Tuesday. 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 Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.64. The firm has a market cap of $92.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.