The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Receives $74.14 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.14.

A number of research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,818,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,159,216. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 4.29 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 fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $75.80.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Southern will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,446,113. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SO. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position 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 during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

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.