Southern (NYSE:SO) Rating Lowered to “Neutral” at Guggenheim

Southern (NYSE:SO) was downgraded by investment analysts at Guggenheim from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Finviz reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Southern Trading Down 2.6 %

Southern stock opened at $82.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $90.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.52. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $84.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 3.8% during the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 5.8% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% during the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.3% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by 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.