Farmers Trust Co. Acquires 11,605 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Farmers Trust Co. lifted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,383 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,605 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co.'s holdings in Southern were worth $3,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 17,272.6% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 14,562,689 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 8,741.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $135,524,000 after buying an additional 1,485,816 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Southern by 72.4% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,077,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $277,570,000 after buying an additional 1,293,072 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,521,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,203,386,000 after buying an additional 1,075,768 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Southern by 2,719.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,670,000 after acquiring an additional 841,435 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.97. 7,807,536 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,003,747. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company's 50 day moving average price is $85.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.03. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $90.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.