Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target Increased to $66.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Barclays from $65.00 to $66.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Barclays's target price points to a potential downside of 3.49% from the company's current price.

SO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on 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, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.07.

Southern Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $68.39. The company had a trading volume of 3,973,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,612,840. Southern has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $68.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.93. The stock has a market cap of $74.86 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Southern's revenue for the quarter 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 Activity at Southern

In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,446,113. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Prudential PLC increased its stake in Southern by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 19,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,409,000 after buying an additional 3,689 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Southern by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Southern by 63.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,621,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Southern by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 907,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,776,000 after buying an additional 239,325 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.