Brookstone Capital Management Cuts Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Brookstone Capital Management cut its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,140 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,252 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Southern were worth $7,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at about $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,772,000 after buying an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 94.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,033,000 after acquiring an additional 140,151 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Southern by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $292,679,000 after acquiring an additional 15,300 shares during the period. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 219.4% during the third quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 6,162 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.15. 3,693,211 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,658,751. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $85.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.16. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week 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.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern 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 transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Guggenheim increased their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho cut Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.14.

About Southern

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.