Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 8,842 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 100,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,842 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank grew its holdings in Southern by 1,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 in the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $70.57 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $75.80. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.99. The company has a market capitalization of $77.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

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.