Stiles Financial Services Inc Increases Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Southern by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $84.53 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization 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 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 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.69.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business 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 payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

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.