Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Acquires 8,055 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,055 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2.3% during the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sara Bay Financial raised its position in Southern by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.91.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $88.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $97.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.46. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $82.69 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $87.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

About Southern

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.