Southern Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:SO)

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 9,899 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 160% compared to the average daily volume of 3,806 call options.

Southern Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.83 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.34. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Southern during the second quarter worth about $655,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Southern by 11.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,320,000 after acquiring an additional 46,504 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Southern by 2.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,392 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.78.

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.