Morgan Stanley Cuts Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target to $89.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered Southern’s price target from $92 to $89 and maintained an “underweight” rating, implying roughly 1.26% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Southern has a consensus “hold” rating and an average price target of $100.09, with seven buys, eleven holds, and two sells.
• Southern shares fell to $90.14 in Friday trading. Although quarterly EPS of $1.13 exceeded expectations, revenue of $6.98 billion came in below analyst estimates.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $92.00 to $89.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 1.26% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on SO. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.14. 2,172,386 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,703,641. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $94.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.44. The company has a market cap of $103.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.34. Southern has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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%. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Uptick Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its position in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 2.4% during the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,313,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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