Insider Selling: Southern (NYSE:SO) EVP Sells $306,002.73 in Stock

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) EVP Sterling Jr. Spainhour sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total transaction of $306,002.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,927,453.66. The trade was a 9.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded up $0.61 on Monday, reaching $92.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,071,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,911,271. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.48. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $81.69 and a 12 month high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.23. Southern had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The business had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s payout ratio is 69.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Truist Financial cut their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Southern from $103.00 to $101.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.24.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Southern by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,895,000 after buying an additional 392,210 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Southern in the second quarter worth $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Southern by 9.8% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,793,000 after buying an additional 508,149 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Southern by 0.5% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,785,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $313,785,000 after buying an additional 19,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Southern by 7.2% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,895,000 after buying an additional 216,900 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States.

Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.

Formed in 1945, Southern Company has grown from a regional electric utility holding company into a diversified energy provider.