Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target Cut to $77.00 by Analysts at Scotiabank

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from $80.00 to $77.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.11% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.36.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $73.26 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $80.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $75.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,795,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Company Profile

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.