Southern (NYSE:SO) EVP Christopher Cummiskey Sells 6,669 Shares of Stock

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $96.22 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $836,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 227,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,828,000 after buying an additional 3,342 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Southern by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 30,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,625,000 after buying an additional 10,519 shares during the period. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $276,000. Finally, Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $1,920,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SO. Barclays dropped their price objective on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.08.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.