10,788 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Purchased by Texas Bank & Trust Co

Texas Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 10,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $888,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in Southern by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Southern by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on SO shares. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.21.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $88.72 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $89.90 and its 200-day moving average is $87.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $97.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $76.64 and a 12-month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. Southern’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% 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.