Southern (NYSE:SO) PT Raised to $87.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on SO. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $82.00.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $87.01 on Monday. Southern has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $89.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $631,068,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Southern by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550,570 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $128,413,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Southern by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,457,000 after buying an additional 934,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Southern by 2,719.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,670,000 after buying an additional 841,435 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.