Marshall Financial Group LLC Reduces Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Marshall Financial Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,368 shares during the quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,161,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,475,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,445,000 after buying an additional 15,076 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.8% in the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Southern by 40.6% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 5,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.5 %

SO opened at $83.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $84.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.39.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.