Waterfront Wealth Inc. Purchases 254 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $829,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 100,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,064,000 after acquiring an additional 8,842 shares during the period. Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,225,000 after buying an additional 2,968 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Latitude Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,651,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $69.82. 411,323 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,580,204. The company has a market capitalization of $76.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $75.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.07.

Southern Company 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.