Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $99.8529.

SO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th.

Insider Transactions at Southern

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth about $655,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Southern by 11.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Southern by 2.7% during the second 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $91.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.93. The stock has a market cap of $103.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Southern will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Southern Company Profile

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.