Southern (NYSE:SO) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $83.73 and last traded at $84.2790, with a volume of 864258 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $85.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on SO. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays cut their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.85.

Southern Trading Down 0.7%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.64 and a 200 day moving average of $93.33. The company has a market capitalization of $95.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Southern’s payout ratio is 72.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE:SO) is an energy holding company that provides electricity and natural gas services through a group of regulated utility subsidiaries. Its electric utilities generate, transmit and distribute power to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while its gas businesses distribute natural gas and provide related energy services.

The company’s principal electric subsidiaries include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power. Southern Company also operates Southern Nuclear, which manages the company’s nuclear generation interests, including the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia.