Southern (NYSE:SO) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 1,622,823 shares changed 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.14.

Southern Stock Up 1.0 %

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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.87. The company has a market cap of $90.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 65,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,055,000 after buying an additional 3,436 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 38.3% in the 2nd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 3,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 160.3% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 2,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 25.5% in the second quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 10,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.