Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Cuts Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 446,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 34,792 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $42,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Southern by 17.8% during the third quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 87,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,265,000 after buying an additional 13,193 shares during the period. Birch Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 14.1% in the third quarter. Birch Financial Group LLC now owns 3,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Gibbs Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $309,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $227,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Mizuho cut their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.91.

Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $87.52 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $87.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $82.05 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $96.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.