Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $99.2647.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $96.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $93.52 and a 200-day moving average of $92.46. The company has a market cap of $109.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.34. Southern has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Company Profile

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.