JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Southern (NYSE:SO) Stock Price

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $104.00 to $93.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.79% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.21.

Southern Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $1.05 on Monday, hitting $85.49. The company had a trading volume of 2,476,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,273,828. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.32. Southern has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Southern by 2.4% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 183,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,347,000 after purchasing an additional 4,263 shares in the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Southern by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 141,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,380,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC raised its stake in Southern by 2.5% during the third quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 26,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,484,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth $14,791,000. Hedge funds and other 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.