FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Sells 880 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH decreased its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 880 shares during the quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

Southern Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:SO opened at $83.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.52. 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 twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.19.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.