Huntington National Bank Has $23.28 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 266,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,732 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $23,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.72 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $105.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Southern

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.