The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stock Position Lifted by Novare Capital Management LLC

Novare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at $6,161,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,475,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,445,000 after acquiring an additional 15,076 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Southern by 40.6% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 5,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.5 %

Southern stock opened at $83.50 on Friday. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a market cap of $91.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $84.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.39.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target 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, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.