1,080 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Bought by Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $76,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC increased its position in Southern by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 4,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

Southern Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE SO opened at $72.15 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $75.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $69.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.09.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

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.