Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target Lowered to $71.00 at Morgan Stanley

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $71.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SO. Scotiabank cut their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Argus increased their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $76.14.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $79.33 on Monday. Southern has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $80.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $86.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Southern will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 10.6% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 15,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $356,000. Bush Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 73.1% in the first quarter. Bush Investment Group LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 4,896 shares during the period. OMC Financial Services LTD purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $421,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 13.8% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 179,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,709,000 after buying an additional 21,743 shares during the period. 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.