Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO Grows Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 243.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,753 shares during the quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Southern by 153.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 266,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,460,000 after acquiring an additional 161,341 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 83,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,666,000 after acquiring an additional 5,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 313,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,802,000 after purchasing an additional 33,995 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of SO stock opened at $97.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $94.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.02. The stock has a market cap of $107.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.