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 that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,886 shares in the company, valued at $2,927,453.66. This represents a 9.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.61 during trading on Monday, hitting $92.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,071,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,911,271. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $88.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.48. The company has a market capitalization of $108.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $81.69 and a 12 month high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.23. Southern had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 392,210 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 9.8% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 508,149 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,785,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $313,785,000 after purchasing an additional 19,239 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Southern by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,895,000 after buying an additional 216,900 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Southern from $103.00 to $101.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their price objective on Southern from $96.50 to $85.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.50 target price on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.24.

About Southern

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.