The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,622,823 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the previous session's volume of 2,127,409 shares.The stock last traded at $82.27 and had previously closed at $82.07.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts have commented on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.14.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Southern
Southern Stock Performance
The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.05 and a 200-day moving average of $85.90. The company has a market cap of $90.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Southern's payout ratio is 66.98%.
Insider Transactions at Southern
In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Southern
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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