Analysts Set The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) PT at $83.71

Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $84.71.

A number of research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 11,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $233,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. SCP Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $548,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Southern by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,978,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,760,000 after acquiring an additional 18,841 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $89.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $98.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52. Southern has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $90.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $85.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.