Cibc World Market Inc. Has $11.90 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 406.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 136,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 109,538 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $11,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 96,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,064,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 131.0% during the fourth quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,521,000 after buying an additional 16,392 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 496,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,281,000 after buying an additional 105,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,443,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $92.74 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.83. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.