The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc lessened its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 260,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,410 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $23,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Balboa Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 11,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth about $234,000. Sargent Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 37.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 5,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Southern by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 48,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,404,000 after buying an additional 1,871 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE SO opened at $87.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.13. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wolfe Research lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern 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.