PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $44.73 Million Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 512,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,633 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $44,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 120.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s 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 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

Southern stock opened at $94.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $106.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.77.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Seven 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.56.

Southern Company 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.