Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target Raised to $82.00 at Morgan Stanley

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $86.60.

Southern Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $90.10 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $87.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.53. Southern has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $90.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, 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 is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 28,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 1.7% in the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 187,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,118 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $762,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $372,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,439,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.