The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Receives $92.21 Average PT from Brokerages

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $92.21.

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Southern Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $89.71 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $89.92 and its 200 day moving average is $87.18. Southern has a 12-month low of $76.64 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The stock has a market cap of $98.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SO. MBL Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $465,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 3.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 20,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,913,000 after buying an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Southern by 35.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,672,000 after acquiring an additional 30,618 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $1,083,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $172,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.