Czech National Bank Buys 13,971 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 251,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,971 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $23,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its position in shares of Southern by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,381,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,676,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.21.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $89.94 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $89.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.24. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $76.96 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $98.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.