First Bank & Trust Has $4.03 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

First Bank & Trust trimmed its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,752 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up 0.8% of First Bank & Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 4.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 404,682 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,494,000 after acquiring an additional 18,483 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $215,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 7.0% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 54,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,886,000 after purchasing an additional 3,531 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at about $660,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $86.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $94.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.99 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.