OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Boosts Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Southern were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 22,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 11,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 100,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,064,000 after acquiring an additional 8,842 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,225,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.1 %

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

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. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’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 value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.07.

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.