Busey Bank Has $1.05 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Busey Bank trimmed its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Southern by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $93.61 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 68.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

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.