The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 228 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 11,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $233,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $219,000. SCP Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $548,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 36,499 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 5,018 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $89.65 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $90.34. The stock has a market cap of $98.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $85.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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 dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.71.

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.