Raymond James Initiates Coverage on Southern (NYSE:SO)

Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Southern (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $98.00 target price on the utilities provider's stock.

SO has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.00.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.22. 5,059,008 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,556,378. The company has a market cap of $99.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.32. Southern has a 52 week low of $76.96 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Southern's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.74 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 23.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern by 1.9% in the first quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 1.4% during the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.