Southern (NYSE:SO) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - What's Next?

Key Points

• Trading volume surged 141% to about 14.47 million shares, versus an average of roughly 6.0 million; shares were recently at $93.67, up from a prior close of $92.47.
• Southern beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates: EPS was $1.94 versus $1.71 expected, and revenue reached $8.84 billion versus $8.38 billion expected, up 13% year over year.
• Analysts’ overall view remains Hold, with a consensus price target of $97.32. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to a 3.3% annualized yield.

Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday. 14,470,975 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 141% from the average daily volume of 5,995,432 shares. The stock last traded at $93.6660 and had previously closed at $92.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $99.50 price objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.32.

Southern Trading Up 1.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $108.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.30. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $88.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.58. 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 (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $8.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern's payout ratio is 69.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total value of $306,002.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,927,453.66. This represents a 9.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Southern during the second quarter worth $737,256,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Southern by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 68,436,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,672,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,626,392 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at about $264,829,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at about $191,120,000. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at about $166,114,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Company Profile

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.

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