The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stock Holdings Increased by Smith Anglin Financial LLC

Smith Anglin Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 49.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,241 shares during the period. Smith Anglin Financial LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 17,272.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,320,866,000 after buying an additional 14,562,689 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 8,741.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $135,524,000 after buying an additional 1,485,816 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,077,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $277,570,000 after buying an additional 1,293,072 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,521,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,203,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2,719.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,670,000 after acquiring an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of SO opened at $83.11 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.19. The stock has a market cap of $91.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

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.