National Bank of Canada FI Has $67.43 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 942,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 85,921 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.09% of Southern worth $67,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. CNB Bank lifted its holdings in Southern by 1,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.85. 4,578,202 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,244,740. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $70.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Southern's payout ratio is 72.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,025 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,402. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group cut Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.71.

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.