Wealthfront Advisers LLC Buys 7,003 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 172,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,003 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $16,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,725,187,000 after buying an additional 1,694,066 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,377,494,000 after buying an additional 241,572 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at about $1,179,715,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,567,000 after acquiring an additional 87,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 9,099.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,011,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373,271 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:SO opened at $90.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.56 and a 200 day moving average of $91.37.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.91.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.