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

Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $99.0294.

A number of brokerages recently commented on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Cowen started coverage on Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Friday, October 17th.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $87.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $93.32 and its 200 day moving average is $92.47. The stock has a market cap of $96.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.45. Southern has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,084,885,000 after acquiring an additional 510,080 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,377,494,000 after purchasing an additional 241,572 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,179,715,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,003,419,000 after purchasing an additional 107,394 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.