Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. cut its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 850 shares during the quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Southern by 9.2% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $6,161,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,475,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,445,000 after acquiring an additional 15,076 shares during the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the second quarter worth $1,031,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 7.8% in the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $83.50 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.35. The company has a market cap of $91.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SO. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.