Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 256,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,603 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $21,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth about $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 5.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,772,000 after acquiring an additional 5,589 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,626,000 after acquiring an additional 5,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 94.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 140,151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $83.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.70 and a 200 day moving average of $86.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Company Profile

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.