Bremer Bank National Association Sells 1,543 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Bremer Bank National Association lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,543 shares during the period. Bremer Bank National Association’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $83.92 on Monday. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’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 earned $1.42 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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.