The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC

Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Woodstock Corp increased its stake in Southern by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 41,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040 shares in the last quarter. RDA Financial Network raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 20,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 292,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,095,000 after acquiring an additional 25,200 shares in the last quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Cvfg LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $535,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. 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. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $83.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.19. 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 announced its earnings results 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. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern 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.