Sabal Trust CO Acquires New Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Sabal Trust CO acquired a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 225,182 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,790,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Prudential PLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 19,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 3,689 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 33.5% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 35.8% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 907,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $65,776,000 after acquiring an additional 239,325 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total transaction of $359,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,284 shares in the company, valued at $7,291,435.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Citigroup started coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, December 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.14.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.91. 5,248,166 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,884,880. The company has a market capitalization of $76.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $75.80. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $68.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Southern's payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

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.