Southern Company (The) $SO Stock: Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Increases Position

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,408 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.24.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $90.72 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $81.69 and a fifty-two week high of $99.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $87.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $104.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern’s electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.