Commerce Bank Has $12.79 Million Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,321 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Southern were worth $12,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its stake in Southern by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,381,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its stake in Southern by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. increased its position in Southern by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its stake in Southern by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 671 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded down $0.03 on Thursday, reaching $91.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 996,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,052,646. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $73.14 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm's 50 day moving average is $89.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.33. The stock has a market cap of $100.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Southern's payout ratio is 71.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.54.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784 in the last quarter. 0.18% 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.