Secure Asset Management LLC Acquires 484 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in Southern by 34.7% during 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. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Scotiabank raised 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $83.50 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $84.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.35. The stock has a market cap of $91.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. 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 Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal 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.