Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target Raised to $85.00

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its price target boosted by Mizuho from $83.00 to $85.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $83.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. Southern has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $83.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

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

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Southern by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 222,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,087,000 after purchasing an additional 14,380 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 4,172 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Southern by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,301,000 after buying an additional 10,028 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 3.8% during the third quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 4,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 10.5% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 6,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.