First Bank & Trust Has $3.95 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

First Bank & Trust lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,754 shares during the period. Southern makes up approximately 0.8% of First Bank & Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $631,068,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Southern by 53.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,444,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,153,065,000 after acquiring an additional 5,707,845 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 38.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $488,461,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,988 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at about $128,413,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 6,303.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,812 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.57. 6,226,973 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,873,369. The stock has a market cap of $84.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $80.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.58 and a 200-day moving average of $72.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.