Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Decreases Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,064 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $77.55 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $80.84. The stock has a market cap of $84.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $77.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Argus raised their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.14.

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.