Analysts Set Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Price Target at $98.08

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.0833.

Several brokerages have issued reports on SO. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after acquiring an additional 543,517 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,852,000. Finally, Shelton Capital Management raised its holdings in Southern by 700.6% in the 2nd quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 161,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,841,000 after purchasing an additional 141,430 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of SO stock opened at $96.22 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $92.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.72. Southern has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market cap of $105.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.32%.

About Southern

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.