First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $249,000 Stake in Southern Company (The) (SO)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. decreased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 227 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Southern Company (The) were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) by 30.4% in the first quarter. Atria Investments LLC now owns 56,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,815,000 after buying an additional 13,177 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) by 1.2% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Management now owns 19,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) by 2.3% in the first quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 13,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) by 15.2% in the first quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 6,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the period. Finally, Iowa State Bank increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) by 1.7% in the first quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 21,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. 52.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of Southern Company (SO) traded up 0.79% during midday trading on Friday, reaching $48.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,853,025 shares. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $46.20 and a 12 month high of $53.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.27 billion, a PE ratio of 79.44 and a beta of 0.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $47.97 and its 200 day moving average is $49.46.

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.23 billion. Southern Company (The) had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post $2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 21st will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.80%. Southern Company (The)’s dividend payout ratio is currently 346.27%.

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A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Barclays PLC reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $56.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Southern Company (The) in a research note on Sunday, April 23rd. Zacks Investment Research cut Southern Company (The) from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. Jefferies Group LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Southern Company (The) in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Southern Company (The) from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 8th. Finally, BidaskClub cut Southern Company (The) from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.79.

In other Southern Company (The) news, insider Ann P. Daiss sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total value of $256,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,164.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher C. Womack sold 75,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total value of $3,703,847.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,204,338.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,084 shares of company stock worth $7,665,158 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Company (The) Company Profile

The Southern Company (Southern Company) is a holding company. The Company owns all of the stock of the traditional electric operating companies and the parent entities of Southern Power Company (Southern Power) and Southern Company Gas, and owns other direct and indirect subsidiaries. The Company’s segments include Gas distribution operations, Gas marketing services, Wholesale gas services, Gas midstream operations and All other.