ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Purchases 3,650 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 85.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,650 shares during the quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farmers Trust Co. raised its holdings in Southern by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 48,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,983,000 after purchasing an additional 11,605 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Southern by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 29,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $279,000. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in Southern by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 21,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advance Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 2.1 %

Southern stock opened at $81.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.02. The firm has a market cap of $89.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Mizuho lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.