Czech National Bank Boosts Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 251,537 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,971 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Southern were worth $23,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its stake in Southern by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,381,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,676,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $88.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,929,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,094,630. The firm's fifty day moving average is $89.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.29. The company has a market capitalization of $97.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $76.96 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.64.

Southern Company 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.