Gray Wealth Management Inc. Decreases Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Gray Wealth Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 306 shares during the period. Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,979,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $369,131,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Southern by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $488,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,988 shares during the period. Imprint Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 5,840.2% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,949,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $194,939,000 after buying an additional 1,916,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,518,045,000 after buying an additional 1,838,857 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

SO traded up $0.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,014,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,586,315. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.99. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.07.

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.