The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Position Lifted by AM Investment Strategies LLC

AM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 89,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,261 shares during the period. Southern makes up 1.8% of AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 9.2% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after buying an additional 2,901 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,161,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,475,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,445,000 after acquiring an additional 15,076 shares during the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,031,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 7.8% during the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $83.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.35. The stock has a market cap of $91.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. 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 fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Southern Company 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.