The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,682 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,223 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for 1.2% of Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 49.4% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 82,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,426,000 after buying an additional 27,397 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 8,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Southern by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $83.92 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.31. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 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 the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’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 directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.