Southern (NYSE:SO) Downgraded by Guggenheim to Neutral

Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern (NYSE:SO) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $82.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.38. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $90.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Southern will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.