Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern (NYSE:SO – Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.
Several other brokerages have also weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.85.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Southern
Southern Stock Performance
Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 72.90%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,381,344,000 after acquiring an additional 384,860 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,111,450,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,895,000 after purchasing an additional 392,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $737,256,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Southern Company Profile
Southern Company (NYSE:SO) is an energy holding company that provides electricity and natural gas services through a group of regulated utility subsidiaries. Its electric utilities generate, transmit and distribute power to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while its gas businesses distribute natural gas and provide related energy services.
The company’s principal electric subsidiaries include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power. Southern Company also operates Southern Nuclear, which manages the company’s nuclear generation interests, including the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia.
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