The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 244.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Scotiabank raised 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. 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. Barclays increased 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. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.79.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $84.03 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.64. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $92.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.