Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Has $11.43 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc decreased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,491 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,046 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc's holdings in Southern were worth $11,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Investors Research Corp boosted its position in Southern by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP boosted its position in Southern by 60.6% during the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $90.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,467,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,669,711. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.81. The firm has a market cap of $99.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $77.47 and a 52 week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.93.

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.