First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Has $367,000 Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown cut its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in Southern were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 sale, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.70. 2,320,588 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,604,940. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $68.92 and a 200 day moving average of $68.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $78.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SO. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.07.

Southern 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.