The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Holdings Boosted by Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,747 shares during the period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lifted its stake in Southern by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 222,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,287,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 3,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in Southern by 388.7% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 36,549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,009,000 after purchasing an additional 29,070 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Southern by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,382,000 after buying an additional 5,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 7,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.79.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’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 value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $84.53 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.65. 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 has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 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.