Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target Increased to $73.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its price objective raised by Bank of America from $70.00 to $73.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an outperform rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $74.36.

Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of SO opened at $73.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Southern has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.24.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Southern’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Insider Activity at Southern

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.