Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Boosts Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 381,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,287 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $31,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $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% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $82.23 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $84.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.38. 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 company has a market cap of $90.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SO. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased 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. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.