The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Position Cut by Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 41,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 943 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.9 %

SO traded down $1.55 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $80.77. 5,298,293 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,818,019. 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 has a market cap of $88.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.02. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.