Southern (NYSE:SO) Cut to Peer Perform at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern (NYSE:SO) from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note released on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $80.33.

Southern Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $87.38. 1,557,931 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,505,312. The company has a market capitalization of $95.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.51. Southern has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $89.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Southern news, Director The Ernest J. Moniz 2018 Trust 8,948 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $16,067,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 382.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,998,000 after buying an additional 33,120 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $1,288,000. Nwam LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 8.8% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Southern

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.