Trilogy Capital Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Trilogy Capital Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Southern by 12.1% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 94,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,512,000 after purchasing an additional 10,163 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its position in Southern by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 10,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 2,719 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 10,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 6.9% in the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 36,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 5.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 178,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,086,000 after acquiring an additional 9,481 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $83.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.65. The company has a market capitalization of $91.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SO. Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

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.