The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) CEO Kimberly S. Greene Sells 32,190 Shares

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Southern Stock Down 3.1 %

NYSE:SO opened at $90.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $98.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The Southern Company has a one year low of $67.53 and a one year high of $94.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The company had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 71.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.54.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SO. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 8.5% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 14,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 9.2% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $725,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 154.1% during the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 3,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 2,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 19,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 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.