The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 116,284 shares in the company, valued at $7,674,744. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.
Southern Trading Up 1.0 %
Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.66 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.10. The stock had a trading volume of 3,908,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,130,951. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $73.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.85 and a fifty-two week high of $75.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $67.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.20.
Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. Southern had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 9.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Southern Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 21st were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 98.94%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Southern from $68.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Southern from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.67.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at $27,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. 62.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Southern
The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. 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.