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

Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.07.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets restated 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. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $70.57 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $77.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.49. Southern has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.99.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its position in Southern by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC increased its position in Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its position in Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank increased its position in Southern by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.