Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $100.0882.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $92.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $105.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $94.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.40. Southern has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,443,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 99,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,667,000 after purchasing an additional 16,878 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $2,462,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 201,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,539,000 after buying an additional 32,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Southern by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,767,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $154,150,000 after buying an additional 969,493 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.