Arkadios Wealth Advisors Raises Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,008 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,013 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors' holdings in Southern were worth $8,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.0 %

SO traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $83.92. The company had a trading volume of 5,406,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,442,785. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $84.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of 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 dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim raised their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business'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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.