Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Has $1.65 Million Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 999 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Significant Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $232,000. Diversified LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Diversified LLC now owns 28,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,989,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,712,000 after buying an additional 4,351 shares during the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.2 %

SO stock opened at $72.99 on Tuesday. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The firm has a market cap of $79.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.11 and its 200-day moving average is $69.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SO. Mizuho boosted their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.00.

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.