DDD Partners LLC Has $21.41 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

DDD Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 260,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,892 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for about 2.6% of DDD Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. DDD Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $21,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Southern in the third quarter valued at about $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.4% during the third 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 increased its stake in shares of Southern by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,626,000 after buying an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 140,151 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $85.72 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.81. 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 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 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.