The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.71.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $77.63 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $77.77.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,364,115 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Southern

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.