The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division cut its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 29.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,245 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Southern were worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $2.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $86.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,373,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,525,437. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $89.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SO. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.33.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, Director The Ernest J. Moniz 2018 Trust 8,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director The Ernest J. Moniz 2018 Trust 8,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.