CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. Takes $14.79 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 156,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,791,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,084,885,000 after buying an additional 510,080 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Southern by 320.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at about $1,179,715,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Southern by 3.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,628,000 after acquiring an additional 285,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,567,000 after acquiring an additional 87,891 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $96.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $105.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $92.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.72.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.32%.

Southern Company 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.