Czech National Bank Acquires 10,955 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 290,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,955 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $25,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,933,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 25,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after buying an additional 2,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 12.7% during the second quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $94.51 on Thursday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $104.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $93.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.78.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.