The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by TrueWealth Advisors LLC

TrueWealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 123 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up about 1.1% of TrueWealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. TrueWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Southern by 14.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,380,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $184,694,000 after purchasing an additional 297,012 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 35.6% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 75,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,822,000 after acquiring an additional 5,109 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Southern by 116.3% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 7,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 3,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 6.9% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $83.92 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 company has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.19.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released 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. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during 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%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays raised 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. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Southern 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.