Southern (NYSE:SO) Cut to Neutral at UBS Group

UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern (NYSE:SO) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $76.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $78.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on SO. Citigroup began coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They set a buy rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an outperform rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $74.14.

Southern Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:SO opened at $69.91 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Southern has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $75.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.89.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The business’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SO. Prudential PLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 19,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 3,689 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Southern by 63.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,621,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Southern by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 907,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,776,000 after buying an additional 239,325 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.