Farmers Trust Co. Acquires 11,605 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Farmers Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 31.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,605 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 29,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $279,000. Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in Southern by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 21,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Southern by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.8 %

SO stock traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,145,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,348,842. The company has a market cap of $90.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $85.65 and its 200-day moving average is $86.05. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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