North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. Invests $1.07 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in Southern Company, buying 12,250 shares worth about $1.07 million.
• Southern reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.32 beating estimates of $1.21 and revenue of $8.40 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 8% year over year.
• The utility also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, implying an annualized dividend of $3.04 and a yield of about 3.3%.

North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,068,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its position in Southern by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,513,000 after acquiring an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,584,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its position in shares of Southern by 243.3% in the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,815,000 after buying an additional 14,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,443,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.8%

SO stock opened at $92.93 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $94.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.87. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $104.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Southern Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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