Liberty One Investment Management LLC Has $30.25 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 367,480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 715 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up 3.3% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $30,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $83.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced 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 business 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 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.