Southern Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:SO)

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 9,899 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 160% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,806 call options.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $95.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $108.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Research analysts predict that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Wall Street Zen raised Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.91.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $1,111,450,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Southern by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Southern by 18.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 5,436,212 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its position in Southern by 83.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 1.5% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

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.