Fortis Advisors LLC Buys 1,400 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Fortis Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 60.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $81.81 on Tuesday. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.16.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’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 value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.