FCG Investment Co Raises Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

FCG Investment Co lifted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 32,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,090 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for 1.6% of FCG Investment Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. FCG Investment Co’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Veracity Capital LLC grew its stake in Southern by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 5,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 117.0% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 2,137 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $105,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 32,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,750,000 after acquiring an additional 4,443 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Southern Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $82.23 on Friday. 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 Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $84.46 and its 200 day moving average is $86.38.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

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

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.