The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Announces $0.72 Quarterly Dividend

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 15th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.72 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th.

Southern has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 24 years. Southern has a payout ratio of 66.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Southern to earn $4.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 66.8%.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $87.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.85 and a 200-day moving average of $84.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. Southern has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.27.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.