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

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 301 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. CNB Bank raised its holdings in Southern by 1,021.4% during the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,364,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.71.

Southern Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of SO traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $77.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,666,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,820,170. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $77.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $70.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.82. The stock has a market cap of $85.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 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.