Southern (NYSE:SO) CEO Sells $2,416,750.00 in Stock

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) CEO Kimberly Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $97.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $94.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.02. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $56,000. VestGen Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 55.0% during the second quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 4,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 5.3% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 122,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,241,000 after buying an additional 6,129 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

About Southern

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.