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

Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $96.2059.

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 price target (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $87.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Southern has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.77 and a 200 day moving average of $92.12. The company has a market cap of $96.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Bush Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Southern by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bush Investment Group LLC now owns 15,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 4,536 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 1.2% in the third quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 106,934 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,134,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.4% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 183,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,347,000 after buying an additional 4,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innova Wealth Partners bought a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $226,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Southern

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.