Mayfair Advisory Group LLC Has $1.74 Million Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Mayfair Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up approximately 1.0% of Mayfair Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its position in Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 5.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 4.5% in the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Southern by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $82.15 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $90.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.96 and a 200-day moving average of $86.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.