Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 8,013 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 38.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,013 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 11,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $233,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $219,000. Finally, SCP Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of SO opened at $88.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.27. 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 Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $90.34. The company has a market cap of $96.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. Southern’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SO. Bank of America lifted their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.71.

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.