Western Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Western Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 19,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,352 shares during the quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Rockline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,795,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SO. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $72.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $78.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $69.02 and its 200 day moving average is $69.05. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal 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.