Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Sells 1,184 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas reduced its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,184 shares during the quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Southern were worth $2,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Southern by 62.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 3,628.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $88.96 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $97.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $88.31 and its 200 day moving average is $81.07. 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 $64.53 and a 12-month high of $91.86.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on SO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Guggenheim raised 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.27.

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.