Romano Brothers AND Company Sells 1,116 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Romano Brothers AND Company lowered its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,116 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Enhancement Group LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the third quarter worth $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 5.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after buying an additional 140,151 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $292,679,000 after buying an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $83.92 on Friday. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.70 and a 200-day moving average of $86.25.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.