Financial Advisors LLC Invests $319,000 in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,881 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 17,272.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,320,866,000 after purchasing an additional 14,562,689 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 8,741.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $135,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,485,816 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,077,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $277,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,072 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,521,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,203,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,768 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2,719.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,670,000 after buying an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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 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. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.14.

Southern Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.92. The stock had a trading volume of 5,406,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,442,785. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The firm's 50-day moving average is $84.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents 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 the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.