Missouri Trust & Investment Co Has $55,000 Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s holdings in Southern were worth $55,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $84.72 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The stock has a market cap of $92.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Barclays increased 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. Scotiabank upped their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.