The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by CX Institutional

CX Institutional lifted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Southern were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,161,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,475,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,445,000 after purchasing an additional 15,076 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 7.8% during the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Southern by 40.6% during the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 5,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at about $468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $83.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.28 and its 200-day moving average is $86.39.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SO. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.