Southern (NYSE:SO) Trading 3.1% Higher

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) shares traded up 3.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $89.12 and last traded at $89.11. 2,959,388 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 4,449,135 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.71.

Southern Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $97.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.11.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Insiders have sold a total of 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $631,068,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Southern by 45.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $128,413,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Southern by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,457,000 after purchasing an additional 934,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Southern by 2,719.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,670,000 after purchasing an additional 841,435 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.