First United Bank & Trust Boosts Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

First United Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 831 shares during the quarter. First United Bank & Trust’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC raised its position in Southern by 34.7% during the third 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 purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $83.92 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.31. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. 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 firm has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim raised their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

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.