Southern (NYSE:SO) Stock Price Crosses Below 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $92.48 and traded as low as $91.09. Southern shares last traded at $92.1640, with a volume of 7,595,511 shares trading hands.

More Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $98.00 in a report on Monday, October 26th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.24.

Read Our Latest Report on Southern

Southern Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $88.16 and its 200 day moving average is $92.48. The stock has a market cap of $106.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.23. Southern had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The firm had revenue of $8.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.70 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SO. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in 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 valued at $808,895,000 after acquiring an additional 392,210 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Southern by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,793,000 after acquiring an additional 508,149 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,785,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $313,785,000 after purchasing an additional 19,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Southern by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,895,000 after purchasing an additional 216,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States.

Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.

Formed in 1945, Southern Company has grown from a regional electric utility holding company into a diversified energy provider.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Southern Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Southern and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.