The stock of Southern Company (SO) has seen a 3.61% increase in the past week, with a 8.28% gain in the past month, and a 10.49% flourish in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 1.74%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 1.83% for SO. The simple moving average for the last 20 days is 5.88% for SO stock, with a simple moving average of 9.55% for the last 200 days.
Is It Worth Investing in Southern Company (NYSE: SO) Right Now?
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) has a price-to-earnings ratio that is above its average at 19.62x. The stock has a 36-month beta value of 0.49. Opinions on the stock are mixed, with 4 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 1 as “overweight,” 8 as “hold,” and 2 as “sell.”
The public float for SO is 1.09B, and at present, short sellers hold a 1.43% of that float. On May 06, 2024, the average trading volume of SO was 4.82M shares.
SO) stock’s latest price update
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) has seen a rise in its stock price by 0.69 in relation to its previous close of 75.33. However, the company has experienced a 3.61% gain in its stock price over the last five trading sessions. CNBC reported 2024-05-05 that Natural gas producers are bullish on demand as they see significant upside from the immense energy needs of artificial intelligence and data centers.
Analysts’ Opinion of SO
BMO Capital Markets, on the other hand, stated in their research note that they expect to see SO reach a price target of $77, previously predicting the price at $72. The rating they have provided for SO stocks is “Outperform” according to the report published on January 11th, 2024.
Citigroup gave a rating of “Buy” to SO, setting the target price at $82 in the report published on December 08th of the previous year.
SO Trading at 8.15% from the 50-Day Moving Average
After a stumble in the market that brought SO to its low price for the period of the last 52 weeks, the company was unable to rebound, for now settling with -0.09% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 1.83%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 1.74%, as shares surge +8.50% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading +12.74% upper at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, SO rose by +3.61%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by +8.14% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $71.94. In addition, Southern Company saw 8.17% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further gains.
Insider Trading
Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at SO starting from Greene Kimberly S, who sale 10,874 shares at the price of $75.01 back on May 02 ’24. After this action, Greene Kimberly S, now owns 110,630 shares of Southern Company, valued at $815,659 using the latest closing price.
Greene Kimberly S, the Chairman, President & CEO, GPC of Southern Company, sale 9,126 shares at $75.04 during a trade that took place back on May 01 ’24, which means that Greene Kimberly S, is holding 121,504 shares at $684,815 based on the most recent closing price.
Stock Fundamentals for SO
Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:
- 0.25 for the present operating margin
- 0.44 for the gross margin
The net margin for Southern Company stands at 0.17. The total capital return value is set at 0.05. Equity return is now at value 13.59, with 3.09 for asset returns.
Based on Southern Company (SO), the company’s capital structure generated 0.67 points at debt to capital in total, while cash flow to debt ratio is standing at 0.13. The debt to equity ratio resting at 2.0. The interest coverage ratio of the stock is 2.49.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is 11.51 billion with net debt to EBITDA at 5.46. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 5.8. The receivables turnover for the company is 6.44for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.18. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 0.92.
Conclusion
To sum up, Southern Company (SO) has seen a better performance recently. Analysts have differing views on the stock, with some seeing it as a “buy” and others as a “hold”. It is worth mentioning that the stock is currently trading in close proximity to its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
