Southern (NYSE:SO) Reaches New 12-Month High at $91.46

Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $91.46 and last traded at $91.40, with a volume of 712624 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.60.

Southern Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $99.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $87.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 2.1% during the second quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 2.0% during the second quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 6,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.