ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $1.95 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,092 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Southern by 168.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on SO shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. 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. Scotiabank increased their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $83.92 on Tuesday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.70 and its 200-day moving average is $86.31. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current 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.