Barclays Increases Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target to $91.00

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its target price upped by Barclays from $90.00 to $91.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.20.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $94.10 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.51. The company has a market cap of $103.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $94.63.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SO. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,465,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.1% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 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.