PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $52.82 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 547,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,237 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $52,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,589,000 after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,004,866,000 after buying an additional 5,436,212 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,381,344,000 after buying an additional 384,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,111,450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $96.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $108.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $94.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.67. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SO. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Southern from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.