apricus wealth LLC Sells 450 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

apricus wealth LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 450 shares during the period. Southern accounts for about 1.7% of apricus wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. apricus wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Enhancement Group LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,772,000 after buying an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in Southern by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,626,000 after buying an additional 5,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,033,000 after buying an additional 140,151 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $83.50 on Friday. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.36 and its 200 day moving average is $86.35. 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 company has a market capitalization of $91.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern 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 $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.