Huntington National Bank Has $16.89 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,274 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $16,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Southern by 4.9% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 91,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in Southern by 8.5% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $5,648,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $86.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.12.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SO. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.27.

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.