Toronto Dominion Bank Has $38.33 Million Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Toronto Dominion Bank cut its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 17.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 534,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 116,022 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $38,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE SO traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $82.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,010,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,455,585. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $83.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $89.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.54.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.50.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,026 shares of company stock worth $2,151,644 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.