Southern Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:SO)

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 9,899 call options on the company. This is an increase of 160% compared to the average volume of 3,806 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.74 on Tuesday, reaching $93.72. The company had a trading volume of 2,309,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,762,887. Southern has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SO. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.91.

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.