Southern (NYSE:SO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Southern (NYSE:SO) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on SO. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.32.

Southern Trading Up 0.1%

Southern stock opened at $93.23 on Friday. Southern has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $93.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.07.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.