Scana Corporation (NYSE:SCG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) upgraded shares of Scana Corporation (NYSE:SCG) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $64.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $66.00.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Scana Corporation from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. Barclays PLC reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $67.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Scana Corporation in a research note on Sunday, April 23rd. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Scana Corporation from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Mizuho reiterated an underperform rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Scana Corporation in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Scana Corporation from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $71.13.

Shares of Scana Corporation (NYSE:SCG) opened at 65.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91 and a beta of 0.26. Scana Corporation has a 1-year low of $63.18 and a 1-year high of $75.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $67.43 and its 200 day moving average is $67.75.

Scana Corporation (NYSE:SCG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.18. Scana Corporation had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Scana Corporation will post $4.19 EPS for the current year.

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The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.6125 per share. This represents a $2.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 8th. Scana Corporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.22%.

In related news, VP Martin K. Phalen sold 42,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total transaction of $2,752,086.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its stake in Scana Corporation by 5.6% in the first quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 160,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,493,000 after buying an additional 8,575 shares in the last quarter. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. increased its stake in Scana Corporation by 130.5% in the first quarter. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. now owns 39,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,592,000 after buying an additional 22,457 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its stake in Scana Corporation by 4.2% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 43,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,815,000 after buying an additional 1,750 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in Scana Corporation by 5.5% in the first quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Scana Corporation by 3.1% in the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 125,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,205,000 after buying an additional 3,781 shares in the last quarter. 68.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scana Corporation Company Profile

SCANA Corporation is a holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in South Carolina. The Company operates through segments, including Electric Operations, Gas Distribution, Gas Marketing and All Other. The Company is engaged in the purchase, transmission and sale of natural gas in North Carolina and South Carolina.