Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 2,199 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,199 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Southern by 3.1% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC lifted its position in Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its position in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 4,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho boosted their price objective 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 lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.07.

Southern Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:SO opened at $70.57 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.99. The company has a market capitalization of $77.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.49. 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 Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80.

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

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.