Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. Has $684,000 Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 348 shares during the quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised 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 during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Southern by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $86.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $83.33 and its 200-day moving average is $86.74. 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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 Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is 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.