Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Has $252,000 Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 5.8% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 4.5% during the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 4.3% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:SO opened at $83.84 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. 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 firm has a market cap of $91.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.67.

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 issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

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.