Western Wealth Management LLC Purchases 1,352 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares during the quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Southern by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $3,795,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

Southern Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $72.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $78.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.05.

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. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.