The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Holdings Lifted by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,904 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $83.50 on Monday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.45. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

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, 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%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

About Southern

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.