Southern Company (The) (SO) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 18th

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.76 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, June 8th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a 2.7% increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74.

Southern has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 25 consecutive years. Southern has a dividend payout ratio of 64.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Southern to earn $4.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.0%.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $92.04 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $103.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.41. Southern has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.19.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Research analysts predict that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position 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 worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $655,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Southern by 11.5% in the 2nd 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 grew its stake in Southern by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,392 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.