NovaPoint Capital LLC Acquires 323 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

NovaPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,570 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 323 shares during the quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Southern by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 222,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,087,000 after buying an additional 14,380 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 6,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in Southern by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 68,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,216,000 after purchasing an additional 3,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in Southern by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 94,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,512,000 after purchasing an additional 10,163 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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 that occurred 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 owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.8 %

Southern stock opened at $83.84 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.67. The firm has a market cap of $91.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, 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 issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.