Wells Fargo Downgrades Southern Co. (SO) to Market Perform; Valuation Call
Tweet Send to a FriendGet Alerts SO Hot Sheet
Price: $43.57 -2.64%
Rating Summary:
2 Buy, 10 Hold, 3 Sell
Rating Trend:
Up
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 12 | Down: 19 | New: 22
Rating Summary:
2 Buy, 10 Hold, 3 Sell
Rating Trend:
Up
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 12 | Down: 19 | New: 22
Trade SO Now!
Wells Fargo downgraded Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) from Outperform to Market Perform, price target range raised from $45-46 to $48-49.
Wells analyst says, "We are downgrading shares of SO largely due to valuation considerations. Shares trade at 10-15% P/E multiple premiums versus the Regulated Electric Utility median on our 2012-14 EPS estimates. We believe the premium valuation is justified given SO’s strong fundamentals which include a low risk regulated strategy, sizeable forecasted rate base growth, constructive regulatory environments,
industry leading management team and solid balance sheet. We consider SO to be one of the most fundamentally sound utilities in our coverage universe and we continue to project healthy 5-year compound annual growth rates of roughly 6% and 4% for EPS and DPS (dividend per share), respectively."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Southern Co. click here. For more ratings news on Southern Co. click here.
Shares of Southern Co. closed at $46.29 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $35.73-$46.69.
Join StreetInsider.com FREE and get immediately alerted when news breaks on your stocks and other market items - JOIN NOW
*NEW - Download StreetInsider's FREE iPhone and iPad App - Click Here
Wells analyst says, "We are downgrading shares of SO largely due to valuation considerations. Shares trade at 10-15% P/E multiple premiums versus the Regulated Electric Utility median on our 2012-14 EPS estimates. We believe the premium valuation is justified given SO’s strong fundamentals which include a low risk regulated strategy, sizeable forecasted rate base growth, constructive regulatory environments,
industry leading management team and solid balance sheet. We consider SO to be one of the most fundamentally sound utilities in our coverage universe and we continue to project healthy 5-year compound annual growth rates of roughly 6% and 4% for EPS and DPS (dividend per share), respectively."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Southern Co. click here. For more ratings news on Southern Co. click here.
Shares of Southern Co. closed at $46.29 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $35.73-$46.69.
Join StreetInsider.com FREE and get immediately alerted when news breaks on your stocks and other market items - JOIN NOW
*NEW - Download StreetInsider's FREE iPhone and iPad App - Click Here
You May Also Be Interested In
- UPDATE: Bernstein Cuts BlackBerry (BBRY) to Underperform; Notes Weak BB10 Traction
- Oppenheimer Downgrades American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) to Perform
- Brean Capital Downgrades Tetra Tech (TTEK) to Hold
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
DowngradesRelated Entities
Dividend, Wells Fargo
Login with Facebook
Sign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
