Avion Wealth Purchases 994 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Avion Wealth grew its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 549.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 994 shares during the quarter. Avion Wealth’s holdings in Southern were worth $96,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 250.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 10,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 7,491 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Southern by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 368,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,245,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares during the period. Prospect Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 73,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,573,000 after buying an additional 2,279 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $321,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $86.45 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.74. The stock 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. 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. 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. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.