Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. Acquires 227 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 3,628.6% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $88.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $88.31 and its 200 day moving average is $81.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $64.53 and a fifty-two week high of $91.86.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Guggenheim upped 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.27.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.