Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Has $7.91 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,078 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its position in Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC raised its stake in Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.3% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $83.50 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $91.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $84.28 and its 200 day moving average is $86.45. 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 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

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.