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

Czech National Bank lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 290,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,955 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $25,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $103.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $94.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $93.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.78.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

About Southern

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.