The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the sixteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.07.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho cut Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 31.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $90.99. 10,245,607 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,450,737. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $89.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Southern will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern's payout ratio is presently 68.57%.

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.