Morgan Stanley Cuts Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target to $89.00

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $92.00 to $89.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $89.09 on Friday. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $102.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.52 and a 200 day moving average of $94.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.