The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Brighton Jones LLC

Brighton Jones LLC lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 355 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Montecito Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 9,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $772,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $459,000. FCG Investment Co boosted its position in shares of Southern by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 32,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,634,000 after buying an additional 5,090 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 5,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $83.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $91.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.39.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company 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.