Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Southern (NYSE:SO) Stock Price

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $85.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 0.75% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on SO. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.85.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock traded down $1.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.64. 3,041,451 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,721,977. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $91.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.33. Southern has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE:SO) is an energy holding company that provides electricity and natural gas services through a group of regulated utility subsidiaries. Its electric utilities generate, transmit and distribute power to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while its gas businesses distribute natural gas and provide related energy services.

The company’s principal electric subsidiaries include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power. Southern Company also operates Southern Nuclear, which manages the company’s nuclear generation interests, including the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia.