Southern (NYSE:SO) Sets New 12-Month High at $75.92

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $75.92 and last traded at $75.56, with a volume of 596966 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.36.

Southern Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $70.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $3,795,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.