Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 46,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 814 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Tanglewood Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. TD Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 122.0% during the first quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $69.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $58.85 and a twelve month high of $79.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.94.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 11.17%. The company had revenue of $5.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.07 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Southern from $79.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Saturday, August 19th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Southern from a “buy” rating to a “conviction-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.30, for a total value of $341,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,512 shares in the company, valued at $1,537,569.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.30, for a total value of $341,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,537,569.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total value of $99,904.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,878,289.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,934,355 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. 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.