Chemung Canal Trust Co. Reduces Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Chemung Canal Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 255 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,161,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at $1,031,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.8% during the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Southern Stock Up 1.5 %

Southern stock opened at $83.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.35. The company has a market cap of $91.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

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.