南方航空（纽约证券交易所代码：SO）在StockNews.com的评级下调至|南方航空_新浪财经

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.93.

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Southern Price Performance

Southern stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.33. 4,114,948 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,047,951. The company's fifty day moving average is $67.76 and its 200-day moving average is $69.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $70.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.49. Southern has a 52 week low of $58.85 and a 52 week high of $80.57.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. Southern had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 11.73%. Southern's revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 852 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.31, for a total transaction of $57,348.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,059 shares in the company, valued at $1,484,791.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 14,546 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.95, for a total transaction of $1,032,038.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,569,766.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 852 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.31, for a total transaction of $57,348.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,059 shares in the company, valued at $1,484,791.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,155 shares of company stock worth $1,275,584. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $435,979,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $369,131,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Southern by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 63,002,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,284,352,000 after buying an additional 3,653,841 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,917,062 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,489,935,000 after buying an additional 2,583,841 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $124,282,000. 61.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Southern

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The Southern Co is a holding company, which engages in the generation and sale of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Traditional Electric Operating Companies, Southern Power and Southern Company Gas. The Traditional Electric Operating Companies segment refers to vertically integrated utilities that own generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and supplies electric services in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi.