Commerce Bank Grows Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Commerce Bank increased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,068 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $9,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Rockline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $1,945,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,067,000. Summit Financial LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,288,000. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 65,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,624,000 after buying an additional 2,691 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,026 shares of company stock valued at $2,151,644 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $78.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $85.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.67. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $80.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 12.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Argus upped their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.50.

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.