Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Receives $99.91 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $99.9118.

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Southern by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after acquiring an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Southern by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,004,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,436,212 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,381,344,000 after purchasing an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.8%

SO opened at $94.53 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.22 and a 200-day moving average of $93.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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.