7,713 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Bought by Golden State Wealth Management LLC

Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $635,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,699,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 148,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,245,000 after purchasing an additional 5,836 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 9,665.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 269,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,170,000 after buying an additional 266,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 28,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,383,000 after buying an additional 3,405 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

Southern Trading Up 0.9 %

SO opened at $84.53 on Friday. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.47 and a 200-day moving average of $86.63. The stock has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’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 directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.