Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.08.

A number of research firms recently commented on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp cut Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

View Our Latest Report on Southern

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $83.74 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.62. The stock has a market cap of $96.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.31. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $81.69 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Southern by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 139,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,311,000 after purchasing an additional 7,146 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 14.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 60,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,750,000 after buying an additional 7,680 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,513,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,519,000 after buying an additional 67,290 shares during the last quarter. Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Rench Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the second quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 45,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,378,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southern

(Get Free Report)

Southern Company (NYSE:SO) is a diversified energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern’s regulated electric utilities include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve residential, commercial and industrial customers across the southeastern United States. The company’s portfolio includes coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydroelectric and renewable generation assets.

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