Southern Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:SO)

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 31,291 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 664% compared to the average volume of 4,094 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price target 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 target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.27.

Southern Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $88.12. 4,725,695 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,463,232. Southern has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.77 and a 200 day moving average of $83.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $96.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Southern will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 63.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

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.