The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stake Boosted by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 211 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.14.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $83.50 on Monday. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

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 net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 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.