UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Increases Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,193 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in Southern by 1,428.6% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of SO stock opened at $87.52 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.76. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $82.05 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $96.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SO. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 price objective (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 17th. Mizuho cut their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.91.

Southern 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.