Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Receives $96.21 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $96.2059.

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI began coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 6th.

Southern Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of SO opened at $87.23 on Tuesday. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $96.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 24.7% in the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 34,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,171,000 after buying an additional 6,843 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 23.6% in the second quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,813,000. Shelton Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Southern by 700.6% during the 2nd quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 161,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,841,000 after purchasing an additional 141,430 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 822,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $75,521,000 after purchasing an additional 42,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.