The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $292,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Southern by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 30,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,519,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Southern by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Southern by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Southern by 363.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 152,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,571,000 after purchasing an additional 119,475 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.79.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $85.72 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.