The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,867 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $14,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Southern by 382.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,998,000 after purchasing an additional 33,120 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 8.8% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Southern by 149.5% in the 2nd quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 16,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 9,726 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Southern by 219.4% during the 3rd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 6,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $455,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.27.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $87.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $96.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52. 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 Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.99.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.