Southern (NYSE:SO) Earns "Neutral" Rating from LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

Key Points

• Southern's stock has received a "neutral" rating from LADENBURG THALM/SH SH, with a target price of $102.50, indicating a potential upside of 4.12% from its current price.
• Analysts' ratings for Southern show a mix, with one strong buy, five buys, ten holds, and one sell, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $98.83.
• Southern reported earnings of $0.91 per share in its last quarter, missing expectations, despite revenue increasing by 7.9% year-over-year.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $102.50 target price on the utilities provider's stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH's price target indicates a potential upside of 4.12% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on SO. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays set a $70.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.83.

Southern Stock Down 1.3%

SO opened at $98.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $108.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's fifty day moving average is $93.94 and its 200-day moving average is $91.95. Southern has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $100.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,725,187,000 after buying an additional 1,694,066 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,377,494,000 after purchasing an additional 241,572 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at about $1,179,715,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Southern by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,003,419,000 after purchasing an additional 107,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $621,567,000 after purchasing an additional 87,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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