M&T Bank Corp Boosts Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 162,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $14,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 22,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 4,731 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 5.8% in the second quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 9,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank bought a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $646,000. Patten Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 6,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $82.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $90.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $88.00 and a 200 day moving average of $85.67. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Southern 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.