Private Trust Co. NA Trims Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Private Trust Co. NA lowered its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,302 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Southern by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its stake in Southern by 3.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 5.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $87.74 on Monday. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $96.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 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. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.79.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.