On October 10th, 2023, Stephen E. Kuczynski, CEO of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO), sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock. The average price per share was $66.00, resulting in a total transaction value of $330,000.00. After the sale, the chief executive officer now holds 116,284 shares in the company, valued at $7,674,744.
This transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). More information about it can be found at this hyperlink provided by the SEC.
Shares of NYSE SO traded at $67.10 on October 11th with a trading volume of 3,908,135 shares. This is compared to the average volume of 4,130,951 shares. The Southern Company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59 and quick ratio and current ratio of 0.62 and 0.83 respectively. With a market cap of $73.18 billion and a P/E ratio of 23.48, the company has a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.53.
Over the past year, Southern’s stock has fluctuated between its fifty-two week low of $58.85 and its fifty-two week high o $75.80.The company’s 50-day moving average price is reported at $67.86 while its 200-day moving average price stands at $70.20.
Various institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made adjustments to their positions in Southern stock. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC added to its stake in the second quarter with an acquisition valued at $27,000.V VitalStone Financial LLC also acquired a new stake during the same period worth approximately $35,000.Intrepid Capital Management Inc., MRP Capital Investments LLC,and Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. are among the other investors who have made changes to their Southern stock holdings. Overall, 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Additionally, Southern recently announced a quarterly dividend which was paid on September 6th to stockholders of record as of August 21st.The dividend amounted to $0.70 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.80 and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date for this particular payment was August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio at present stands at approximately 98.94%.
These recent developments highlight various aspects of The Southern Company’s financial activities and performance. From the CEO’s sale of shares to institutional investments and the company’s dividend payments, these events provide insight into the company’s market activity and its relations with shareholders.
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The Southern Company’s Earnings Results: A Tale of Conflicting Expectations and Fluctuating Sentiment
The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) recently released its quarterly earnings results on August 3rd, leaving investors and analysts perplexed. The utilities provider reported an EPS of $0.79 for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. However, the company’s revenue during the quarter stood at $5.75 billion, falling short of the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion.
With a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 9.86%, Southern experienced a decline in quarterly revenue by 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. In the previous year’s corresponding quarter, the firm had posted earnings per share of $1.07.
Equities research analysts are predicting that The Southern Company will post an EPS of 3.6 for the current fiscal year; however, with the recent fluctuations in quarterly revenue, there remains a level of uncertainty regarding this forecast.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have made adjustments to their positions in Southern’s stock in light of these earnings results. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the second quarter, valued at $27,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new stake worth approximately $30,000 in the first quarter.
Additional investments were made by Intrepid Capital Management Inc., Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C., and VitalStone Financial LLC during the second quarter as well, totaling to a collective ownership stake of around 62.85% by institutional investors and hedge funds.
As Southern deals with these shifts in investor sentiment, it has become subject to several research reports evaluating its future performance and potential price objective adjustments.
Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $74.00 following their report released on August 4th.
Similarly, BMO Capital Markets set a “market perform” rating on Southern and lowered their price target from $72.00 to $70.00 in a research report published on August 31st.
On the positive side, Ladenburg Thalmann initiated coverage on Southern in an August 9th report, providing a “buy” rating with a price objective of $72.00 per share.
In contrast, Barclays decreased their price target for Southern from $68.00 to $64.00 in a research note issued on October 5th.
Morgan Stanley took a more neutral stance, increasing the price target range from $67.00 to $69.00 and assigning an “equal weight” rating to Southern’s stock in their September 21st report.
According to data from Bloomberg.com, the average analyst rating for Southern Company stands at “Hold,” with an average target price of $72.67.
In conclusion, The Southern Company’s recent earnings results have raised questions among investors and analysts alike due to the variance between EPS and revenue expectations. As various institutional investors adjust their positions within the company, research reports have provided mixed opinions on its future performance and potential stock prices.
Investors are advised to carefully assess these factors before making any decisions regarding their investment in The Southern Company (SO).
