Buckhead Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Buckhead Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 187 shares during the period. Southern accounts for about 1.7% of Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $86.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $95.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $83.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.77.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on SO shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.79.

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.