Raleigh Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 402 shares during the quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $82.51 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company 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%. Southern’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 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.