Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 1,731 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 186,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,731 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Southern were worth $13,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marietta Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,946 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 17,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 3,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $1,393,000. Finally, Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 25,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 3,390 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the 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 owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $72.15 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The company has a market cap of $78.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.02 and a 200 day moving average of $69.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

About Southern

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.