Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Stock Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.24.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SO. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 25th. HSBC started coverage on Southern in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.50 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th.

Southern Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:SO opened at $93.70 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $87.78 and its 200-day moving average is $92.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Southern has a 12 month low of $81.69 and a 12 month high of $99.58. The firm has a market cap of $107.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.30.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Southern by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,895,000 after buying an additional 392,210 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 9.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $543,793,000 after acquiring an additional 508,149 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,895,000 after purchasing an additional 216,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,932,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $280,715,000 after purchasing an additional 54,111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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

Southern’s electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.