Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Stock Has Average Target Price of $100.08 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Southern Company, with 11 hold, seven buy and two sell ratings. The average 12-month price target is $100.08, above the stock’s reported $83.03 opening price.
• Southern’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations on earnings, reporting $1.13 EPS versus the $1.01 consensus, though revenue of $6.98 billion fell short of estimates. Analysts forecast full-year EPS of approximately $4.59.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.76, or $3.04 annually, representing a 3.7% yield and a 72.9% payout ratio. Institutional investors own 64.1% of Southern’s outstanding shares.

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $100.08.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th.

Southern Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of SO stock opened at $83.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $95.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $89.69 and a 200-day moving average of $92.94. 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 1-year low of $81.69 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at about $737,256,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Southern by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $264,829,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $191,120,000. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $166,114,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

About Southern

Southern Company NYSE: SO is a diversified energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern's regulated electric utilities include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve residential, commercial and industrial customers across the southeastern United States. The company's portfolio includes coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydroelectric and renewable generation assets.

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