Barclays Raises Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target to $99.00

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Barclays from $88.00 to $99.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.88% from the company’s previous close.

SO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.69.

Southern Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE SO opened at $97.18 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.19. The stock has a market cap of $109.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.41. Southern has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 2,785.8% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after purchasing an additional 543,517 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,852,000. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,966,000 after purchasing an additional 47,451 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.