Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 8.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 97,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,371 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $9,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its stake in Southern by 24.7% in the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 34,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,171,000 after acquiring an additional 6,843 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,813,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Southern by 700.6% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Southern by 5.5% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 822,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,521,000 after purchasing an additional 42,531 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 target price (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 17th. TD Cowen began coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.03.

Southern Stock Up 0.2%

Southern stock opened at $89.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $98.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.46. 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 Company has a fifty-two week low of $82.05 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.86.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Company 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.