Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Purchased by BIP Wealth LLC

BIP Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 75.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,327 shares during the quarter. BIP Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,813,000. Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 24.7% during the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 34,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,171,000 after purchasing an additional 6,843 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 23.6% during the second quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Southern by 700.6% during the second quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 161,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,841,000 after purchasing an additional 141,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 5.5% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 822,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $75,521,000 after purchasing an additional 42,531 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $88.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $87.74 and its 200-day moving average is $91.81. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $82.05 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The business had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.56.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.