Trust Co. of Virginia VA Sells 251 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Trust Co. of Virginia VA lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 251 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Virginia VA’s holdings in Southern were worth $452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $631,068,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Southern by 53.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,444,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,153,065,000 after purchasing an additional 5,707,845 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $488,461,000 after buying an additional 2,096,988 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $128,413,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 6,303.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,112,000 after buying an additional 1,180,812 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.14.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $77.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $84.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $80.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.28.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

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.