Intrust Bank NA Has $824,000 Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Intrust Bank NA trimmed its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,847 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Southern were worth $824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $73.50 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The company has a market cap of $80.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.50.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.36.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.