Southern (NYSE:SO) Given New $97.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Guggenheim from $93.00 to $97.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Guggenheim’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.23% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.27.

Southern Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.43 on Wednesday, reaching $91.31. 2,057,648 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,468,038. The company has a market cap of $99.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.96. Southern has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $91.77.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,845 shares of company stock valued at $1,335,135. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.