Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target to $93.00

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its price objective trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $104.00 to $93.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. BTIG Research began coverage on Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 target price (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.21.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $87.19 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $91.62 and a 200-day moving average of $92.24. Southern has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Southern by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after purchasing an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $1,179,715,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 9,099.6% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,011,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373,271 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of Southern by 83.8% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,725,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,066 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.