Analysts Set The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) PT at $90.14

Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $90.14.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SO. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $83.16 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Southern has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.