PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases 4,400 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 518,712 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $42,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Southern by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 244.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.54.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock traded down $1.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $88.72. The company had a trading volume of 4,535,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,345,376. The company has a market capitalization of $97.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $85.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.08.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 71.82%.

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.