Guardian Investment Management Sells 500 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Guardian Investment Management decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $70.42. 2,948,106 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,614,146. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.98. The company has a market capitalization of $77.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.07.

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.