Southern (NYSE:SO – Free Report) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $85.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.
A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.85.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Southern
Southern Trading Down 0.0%
Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.90%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SO. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Southern by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after acquiring an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,381,344,000 after purchasing an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $1,111,450,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,895,000 after purchasing an additional 392,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the second 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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