Southern (NYSE:SO) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $81.91 and last traded at $82.3150, with a volume of 5048780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.08.

Southern Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $95.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.33.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 72.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $737,256,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Southern by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,589,000 after acquiring an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Southern during the second quarter worth about $264,829,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Southern in the second quarter worth about $191,120,000. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $166,114,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE:SO) is a diversified energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern’s regulated electric utilities include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve residential, commercial and industrial customers across the southeastern United States. The company’s portfolio includes coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydroelectric and renewable generation assets.