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

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

Southern Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $96.22. The stock had a trading volume of 5,379,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,213,450. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $92.46 and its 200-day moving average is $91.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend 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

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Evercore raised Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.