Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Southern (NYSE:SO – Free Report) in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $68.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock.
Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, June 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. They set a buy rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Southern from $79.00 to $77.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Southern from a buy rating to a conviction-buy rating in a report on Monday, July 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $73.56.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Southern
Southern Trading Down 0.3 %
Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 11.17%. The business had revenue of $5.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. Southern’s payout ratio is 98.94%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total value of $348,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,801,994.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total value of $348,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,801,994.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.05, for a total value of $700,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,009,804.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,761 shares of company stock worth $10,152,544 in the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.5% during the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in Southern by 41.6% in the second quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 6,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares during the period. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new stake in Southern in the second quarter worth $555,000. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Southern in the second quarter worth $1,468,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in Southern by 11.7% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 24,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.25% of the company’s stock.
Southern Company Profile
The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. 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.
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