Thomasville National Bank Has $7.18 Million Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Thomasville National Bank reduced its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,229 shares during the quarter. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its position in Southern by 3.8% during the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC increased its position in Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Southern by 5.8% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Southern by 4.5% during the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:SO traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $80.96. 1,078,069 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,422,000. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $85.22 and a 200 day moving average of $86.13. The stock has a market cap of $88.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) 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 company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.