Southern (NYSE:SO) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at Truist Financial

Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern (NYSE:SO) in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $103.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on SO. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Evercore raised Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.08.

Southern Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE SO opened at $93.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $105.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.41. Southern has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.80 and a 200-day moving average of $92.19.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SO. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 2,785.8% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after purchasing an additional 543,517 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,852,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,966,000 after purchasing an additional 47,451 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.