Chronos Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Chronos Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises approximately 3.6% of Chronos Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Chronos Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Southern by 84.9% during 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. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SO. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.79.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $84.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $83.47 and its 200 day moving average is $86.63. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.