The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 347,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,631 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $28,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Southern by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 368,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,245,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 19,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,763 shares during the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $257,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 24,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,204,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drake & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 4,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $85.72 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.77.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued 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 3.36%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s 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 owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 company insiders.

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.