The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Position Increased by Miracle Mile Advisors LLC

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 952 shares during the quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Guggenheim upped their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade 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 is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $82.15 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.19. The company has a market cap of $90.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 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.