Southern (NYSE:SO) Stock Rating Lowered by Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank has downgraded Southern's stock from "outperform" to "sector perform," with a price target of $99.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.70% from the current price.
• Southern’s recent quarterly earnings showed $0.91 EPS, missing expectations, although revenue rose to $6.97 billion, exceeding forecasts.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares at an average price of $95.00, representing a 12.32% decrease in her ownership of Southern stock.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $99.00 target price on the utilities provider's stock. Scotiabank's price target suggests a potential upside of 4.70% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SO. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.08.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $94.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.46. Southern has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44. The stock has a market cap of $104.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 275.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth $36,000. 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.