Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. cut its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 850 shares during the period. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SO. Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,626,000 after purchasing an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Southern by 94.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after buying an additional 140,151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $83.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $91.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.35. 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 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

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.