First National Trust Co Reduces Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

First National Trust Co reduced its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 424 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. VeraBank N.A. purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $211,000. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,875 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $273,000. Finally, W Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.85. The stock had a trading volume of 4,578,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,244,740. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.48.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is 72.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,025 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,402 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.71.

Southern 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.