Certuity LLC Buys 493 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Certuity LLC grew its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 493 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Southern by 3.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 368,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,245,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $213,000. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 73,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,573,000 after acquiring an additional 2,279 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $321,000. Finally, Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth about $201,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.79.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Trading Up 0.5 %

SO opened at $86.85 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.33 and a 200 day moving average of $86.77. The firm has a market cap of $95.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

About Southern

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.