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

Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.9118.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $87.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $96.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.75. Southern has a one year low of $82.05 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

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.