JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target to $93.00

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its price objective trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $104.00 to $93.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

SO has been the subject of several other research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 price objective (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.21.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $87.19 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $96.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.24. Southern has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in Southern by 1,428.6% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth about $29,000. 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.