Southern (NYSE:SO) Downgraded to “Neutral” Rating by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Southern (NYSE:SO) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $98.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 price target (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.56.

Southern Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $90.94 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.21 and its 200 day moving average is $92.49. Southern has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $100.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.300-4.30 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.540-0.540 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 73.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its holdings in Southern by 1,428.6% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.