Capital Advisors Inc. OK Increases Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 890,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,383 shares during the period. Southern comprises 1.5% of Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Capital Advisors Inc. OK owned approximately 0.08% of Southern worth $73,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its stake in Southern by 250.9% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 10,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 7,491 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Southern by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 368,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,245,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $213,000. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 73,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,573,000 after buying an additional 2,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $321,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $86.45 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.74. 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 company has a market cap of $94.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.