Analysts Set The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Target Price at $89.07

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and seven 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 $89.27.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SO. West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Southern by 63.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $88.54 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $89.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $96.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.52. Southern has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

About Southern

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.