U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2.66 Million Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,723 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SO. Mizuho raised their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $84.03 on Tuesday. 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 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $92.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.64.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.