Southern (NYSE:SO) EVP Sterling Jr. Spainhour Sells 3,333 Shares of Company Stock

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) EVP Sterling Jr. Spainhour sold 3,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total value of $306,002.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,927,453.66. This trade represents a 9.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Southern Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:SO opened at $93.51 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.50. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $81.69 and a 52-week high of $99.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $107.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.30.

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. The business had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.70 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. Barclays dropped their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.50 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.32.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

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

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.