Wells Fargo & Company Increases Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target to $77.00

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $77.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 1.52% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.71.

Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

SO opened at $75.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.39 and a 200-day moving average of $69.64. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $75.98.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,025 shares of company stock worth $1,424,402 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 0.9% during the first quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.