The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Winch Advisory Services LLC

Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 199.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Stolper Co raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Stolper Co now owns 24,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,018,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 12,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 5,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price 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. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $82.34 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.19. 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 Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.