The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Goelzer Investment Management Inc.

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 60,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,746 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $83.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.35. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

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.