Financial Enhancement Group LLC Makes New Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Financial Enhancement Group LLC bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 168.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Southern in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Southern in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 199.5% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 647 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim raised their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $1.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $83.86. 4,452,797 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,583,610. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.16. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. Southern's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern 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.