As of Friday close, The Southern Company’s (NYSE:SO) stock was down -$0.53, moving down -0.76 percent to $69.37. The average number of shares traded per day over the past five days has been 3,846,480 shares. 2 times new highs have been achieved over the past 5 days, with a -$1.72 fall in that time frame. In the last twenty days, the average volume was 3,793,685, while in the previous 50 days, it was 3,693,674.
Since last month, SO stock rose 2.69%. Shares of the company fell to $65.93 on 09/05/23, the lowest level in the past month. A 52-week high of $76.54 was reached on 05/11/23 after having rallying from a 52-week low of $58.85. Since the beginning of this year, SO’s stock price has dropped by -2.86% or -$2.04, and marked a new high 7 times. However, the stock has declined by -9.37% since its 52-week high.
SO stock investors should be aware that The Southern Company (SO) stock had its last reported insider trading activity 12 days ago on Sep 11. Kuczynski Stephen E, the CEO, Southern Nuclear of the company, disposed of 5,000 shares for $67.83 on Sep 11. It resulted in a $339,150 divestment by the insider. DAVIS MARTIN BERNARD sold 1,490 shares at an average price of $67.05 on Sep 05. The insider now owns 72,756 shares following the transaction. On Aug 29, EVP & CCCS Officer Cummiskey Christopher sold 5,000 shares at $68.30 apiece. The transaction was valued at $341,500.
Valuation Metrics
Right now, The Southern Company (SO) has a P/E ratio of about 24.55. The stock’s beta is 0.51. Besides these, the trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 2.73, the price-to-book (PB) ratio of 2.47.
The latest dividend of $0.70 per share was paid out, remained unchanged from last year’s $0.70. On Monday April 17 2023, a $0.02 dividend increase was announced.
Financial Health
In the three months ended June 29, The Southern Company’s quick ratio stood at 0.60, while its current ratio was 0.80, showing that the company is not able to pay off its debt. According to company report, the long-term debt-to-equity ratio for the quarter ending June 29 was 1.80, and the total debt-to-equity ratio was 1.98. On the profitability front, the trailing twelve-month gross margin is 83.90% percent. In the year ended June 29, EBITDA margin amounted to 33.19%, whereas operating margins totaled 17.50%. Based on annual data, SO earned $5.37 billion in gross profit and brought in $29.28 billion in revenue.
A company’s management is another factor that investors consider when determining the profitability of an investment. In the past year, return on investment (ROI) was 5.20%. Return on equity (ROE) for the past 12 months was 10.00%.
In The Southern Company’s quarter-end financial report for June 29, it reported total debt of $55.13 billion. According to the earnings report, the company had a lower net income in the recent quarter than it did in the previous quarter. SO’s revenue fell -2.82% to $11.93 billion during the quarter, while net income inched up to $5.75 billion. While analysts expected The Southern Company to report $0.75 quarterly earnings, the actual figure was $0.79 per share, beating the consensus estimate by 5.30%. During the quarter, the company generated $2.49 billion in EBITDA. The liabilities of The Southern Company were 102.47 billion at the end of its most recent quarter ended June 29, and its total debt was $62.62 billion. The value of shareholders’ equity is $1.09 billion.
Technical Picture
This quick technical analysis looks at The Southern Company’s (SO) price momentum. With a historical volatility rate of 16.69%, the RSI 9-day stood at 49.14% on 22 September.
With respect to its five-day moving average, the current The Southern Company price is down by -2.42% percent or -$1.72. At present, SO shares trade +2.88% above its 20-day simple moving average and -6.37% percent below its 100-day simple moving average. However, the stock is currently trading approximately -2.95% below its SMA50 and +2.80% above its SMA200.
Stochastic coefficient K was 72.76% and Stochastic coefficient D was 82.27%, while ATR was 1.07. Given the Stochastic reading of 59.22% for the 14-day period, the RSI (14) reading has been calculated as 50.80%. As of today, the MACD Oscillator reading stands at -0.11, while the 14-day reading stands at 1.00.
Analyst Ratings
BofA Securities upgraded its rating on The Southern Company (NYSE: SO) to a Neutral in a note to investors on September 13, 2023. The analysts firm previously had an Underperform rating on the stock.The Southern Company (SO) has been rated Overweight by analysts. According to 1 brokerage firm, SO is a sell, and 9 firms recommend it is a Hold. There are 0 analysts who say the stock is underweight. A total of 0 analysts rate The Southern Company stock as buy, with 9 recommending it as overweight.
With a median target price of $72.50, the current consensus forecast for the stock is $65.00 – $81.00. Based on these forecasts, analysts predict The Southern Company (SO) will achieve an average price target of $73.25.
