Deutsche Bank AG Has $177.14 Million Stock Position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG has increased its holdings in Southern Company by 2.7%, acquiring an additional 50,182 shares to reach a total of approximately $177 million in value.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 EPS for the latest quarter, missing estimates by $0.08, but showed a 7.9% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing a 3.1% yield, with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,926,456 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 50,182 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.18% of Southern worth $177,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Investors Research Corp raised its position in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP raised its position in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

SO traded down $0.69 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.88. 7,463,706 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,198,451. The stock has a market cap of $103.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $92.05 and a 200 day moving average of $89.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.29.

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.