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

Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.6944.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,358,000 after acquiring an additional 543,517 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $4,852,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $1,813,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,966,000 after acquiring an additional 47,451 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:SO opened at $95.96 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.19. Southern has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $108.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.32%.

About Southern

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.