Park National Corp OH Decreases Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Park National Corp OH trimmed its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 278 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Southern were worth $799,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Emprise Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 28,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,240,000 after buying an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.7% in the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 187,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,515,000 after buying an additional 3,118 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at $762,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $90.70 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $62.26 and a 1 year high of $91.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $87.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.12.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.27.

Southern Company 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.