Commerce Bank Acquires 6,448 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank increased its stake in Southern Company by 4.2%, acquiring an additional 6,448 shares to hold a total of 161,758 shares, valued at approximately $14.87 million.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares for about $1.25 million, resulting in a 12.32% decrease in their ownership position.
• Southern Company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.1%, set to be paid on September 8th.

Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 6,448 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Southern were worth $14,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 6.1% in the first quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 9,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 2,870.4% during the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 313,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,798,000 after buying an additional 302,651 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in Southern by 428.2% during the 1st quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 204,406 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $18,795,000 after purchasing an additional 165,706 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Southern by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 424,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000,000 after buying an additional 7,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shufro Rose & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC now owns 3,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.29.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $96.02. 5,837,308 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,309,095. The business's 50 day moving average price is $91.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

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.