Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.76

Key Points

• Southern Company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share (a 2.7% increase), implying a yield of about 3.3%; shareholders of record on May 18 will be paid on June 8 (ex-dividend May 18).
• The company has raised its dividend annually for 25 consecutive years, with a payout ratio around 64.8% and analysts forecasting $4.93 EPS next year, which implies a projected payout ratio near 60% and suggests the dividend is covered.
• In the latest quarter Southern reported EPS of $0.55 (missing estimates by $0.01) while revenue rose 10.1% year-over-year to $6.98 billion; the stock trades at a P/E of about 23.8 and a market cap near $105.5 billion.

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of 0.76 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, June 8th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This is a 2.7% increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74.

Southern has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 25 consecutive years. Southern has a dividend payout ratio of 64.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Southern to earn $4.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.0%.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $93.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $105.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.41. Southern has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.74 and a 200 day moving average of $92.20.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the 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 directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SO. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Southern by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after purchasing an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,450,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Southern by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after buying an additional 5,436,212 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after buying an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.