Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH Sells 775 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lowered its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 13.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 775 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH’s holdings in Southern were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $631,068,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550,570 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at about $128,413,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Southern by 6,303.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,812 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,457,000 after acquiring an additional 934,447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of SO stock traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $86.44. The stock had a trading volume of 4,332,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,524,125. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.20. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $89.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.