Retirement Guys Formula LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC boosted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the period. Retirement Guys Formula LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Avion Wealth boosted its position in Southern by 549.2% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 1,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 994 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Southern by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 545,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,735,000 after purchasing an additional 140,401 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $4,331,000. Atlas Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Southern by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its position in Southern by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 890,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,287,000 after purchasing an additional 15,383 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $86.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.74. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SO. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.79.

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.