The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) CEO Sells $1,250,440.00 in Stock

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

Southern stock opened at $85.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $93.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $83.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.77.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SO. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $936,000. Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $643,000. Keel Point LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 95,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,878,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 27,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of Southern by 4,825.1% during the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 166,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,732,000 after purchasing an additional 163,426 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.