CIBC Asset Management Inc Decreases Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 274,398 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,969 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings in Southern were worth $19,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 30.4% in the third quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Argus raised their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.60.

Southern Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.25 during trading on Monday, hitting $80.39. The company had a trading volume of 4,539,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,770,790. The stock has a market cap of $87.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.23. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $80.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.