Barclays Boosts Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target to $66.00

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $65.00 to $66.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

SO has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group cut Southern from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $74.07.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $70.57 on Monday. Southern has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $75.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.99. The stock has a market cap of $77.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Southern will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 5.7% during the first quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,000 after buying an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 10.9% during the first quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 22,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,612,000 after buying an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management grew its holdings in Southern by 0.8% during the first quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management now owns 176,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,658,000 after buying an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 37.8% during the first quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 194,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,972,000 after buying an additional 53,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 3.7% during the first quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 24,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,726,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.