TrueWealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

TrueWealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. Southern makes up approximately 1.1% of TrueWealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. TrueWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 4.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,521,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,203,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,768 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 17,272.6% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,320,866,000 after buying an additional 14,562,689 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,405,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $577,657,000 after buying an additional 52,414 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $292,679,000 after acquiring an additional 15,300 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 72.4% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,077,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,072 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $83.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.19. The stock has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.52. 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 Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SO. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

Southern 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.