J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,646 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $435,979,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $369,131,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $488,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,988 shares during the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5,840.2% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,949,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $194,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,518,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838,857 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $72.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $69.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

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

Insider Activity at Southern

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.07.

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.