Advisory Alpha LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Advisory Alpha LLC lessened its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 752 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $318,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth about $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 5.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,772,000 after acquiring an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,626,000 after acquiring an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $26,033,000 after acquiring an additional 140,151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. Scotiabank increased 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. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $82.23 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $84.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.38. The stock has a market cap of $90.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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.