Core Alternative Capital Reduces Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Core Alternative Capital reduced its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 12.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 67,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,379 shares during the period. Southern makes up approximately 1.9% of Core Alternative Capital’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Core Alternative Capital’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at about $1,179,715,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 9,099.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,011,000 after buying an additional 4,373,271 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,725,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $103,342,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.8%

Southern stock opened at $88.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.69. Southern Company has a one year low of $82.69 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75.

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 company had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.91.

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.