The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Eagle Ridge Investment Management

Eagle Ridge Investment Management trimmed its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 181,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,720 shares during the period. Southern comprises about 1.3% of Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $14,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,626,000 after purchasing an additional 5,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 140,151 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Southern Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $83.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $91.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. 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 Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.65.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.