The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stake Lessened by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 17.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 534,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 116,022 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $38,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.50.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.52 on Friday, reaching $82.18. 4,010,081 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,455,585. 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 Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $83.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $79.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’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 owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,026 shares of company stock worth $2,151,644. 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.