CIBC Asset Management Inc Raises Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 27.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 496,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,589 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $43,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 320.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after purchasing an additional 25,567,431 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,450,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1,518.4% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,880,000 after purchasing an additional 979,587 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $90.60 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.82. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $102.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Southern 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.