Southern (NYSE:SO) Rating Lowered to Underweight at KeyCorp

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at KeyCorp from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $78.00 price objective on the utilities provider's stock. KeyCorp's target price suggests a potential downside of 8.86% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on SO. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.07.

Southern Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE SO opened at $85.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $90.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.23. Southern has a one year low of $76.64 and a one year high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $94.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in Southern by 400.0% during the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Southern

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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