Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.0833.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $102.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.44. Southern has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $92.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 320.3% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,179,425,000 after purchasing an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,179,715,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Southern by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after buying an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 9,099.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,011,000 after buying an additional 4,373,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in Southern by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.