New Covenant Trust Company N.A. Makes New Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $80,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 62.0% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 4.8 %

NYSE SO traded up $4.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $87.57. The company had a trading volume of 8,498,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,494,367. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $79.52 and its 200 day moving average is $73.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $95.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, 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 directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director The Ernest J. Moniz 2018 Trust 8,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The disclosure for this trade can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Argus raised their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

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.