Southern (NYSE:SO) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern to “Hold” from “Sell,” while analysts overall maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $99.85.
• Southern shares opened at $85.52, down 1.4%, and are trading near the lower end of their 12-month range of $83.80 to $100.83.
• The company exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.13 versus the $1.01 consensus estimate, although revenue of $6.98 billion fell short of analysts’ $7.23 billion forecast.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

SO has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.85.

Southern Stock Down 1.4%

SO stock opened at $85.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Southern has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.73.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,443,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,767,773 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $154,150,000 after acquiring an additional 969,493 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 29.2% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 50,628 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,887,000 after acquiring an additional 11,448 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its position in shares of Southern by 114.2% during the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 45,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 24,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Southern by 19.1% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 92,289 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,908,000 after purchasing an additional 14,798 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Company Profile

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.

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