Toronto Dominion Bank Reduces Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Toronto Dominion Bank lessened its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 509,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,929 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $39,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.60.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.4 %

Southern stock opened at $89.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $97.72 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $86.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.25. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $90.85.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. Southern’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

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.