Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Purchases New Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV purchased a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank increased its stake in Southern by 1,021.4% during the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:SO opened at $70.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $77.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.99. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $75.80. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. Southern’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following 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 three months, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

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.