Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Makes New Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV purchased a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank grew its position in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% during the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $70.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. 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 company earned $0.26 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

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