The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Citizens National Bank Trust Department

Citizens National Bank Trust Department reduced its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 127 shares during the period. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Advyzon Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Corps Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $412,000. TBH Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 6,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 110,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,128,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 13,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Southern Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE SO opened at $86.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a PEG 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 has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.80.

Southern Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Southern 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.