Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Receives $99.15 Average Price Target from Analysts

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities 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 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $99.2647.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $97.01 on Tuesday. Southern has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $93.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.33. The firm has a market cap of $109.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SO. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 17.5% in 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 period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in 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 period. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $655,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Southern by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,320,000 after buying an additional 46,504 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,268,000 after buying an additional 13,392 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.