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

Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One 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 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $90.14.

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of SO stock traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $82.86. 7,711,031 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,425,100. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $88.12 and its 200-day moving average is $85.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $90.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. Analysts predict that Southern will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

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.