Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Southern Company has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from fourteen analysts, with one sell recommendation, nine holds, and four buys, and the average price target is $94.29.
• Recently, the company reported earnings of $0.91 per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99, although its revenue increased by 7.9% year-over-year.
• Southern Company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.74 on September 8th, translating to an annual yield of 3.1% and a dividend payout ratio of 70.64%.

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the fourteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $94.29.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company.

Southern Stock Up 0.5%

SO stock opened at $94.96 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $91.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.41. The company has a market cap of $104.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.74. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 70.64%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Southern by 23.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,000,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,815,000 after buying an additional 15,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Little House Capital LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 145.6% during the 1st quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 28,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 16,771 shares during the period. 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.

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