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

Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.14.

Several brokerages have weighed in on SO. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in Southern in the third quarter valued at $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.6 %

SO opened at $81.81 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.16. Southern has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.