The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 100,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,842 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Southern by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 4,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $70.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.99. The stock has a market cap of $77.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on SO. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.