UPDATE: Jefferies Maintains Buy on Southern Company; Raise PT from $50.50 to $52.50

Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on Southern Company SO and raised its price target from $50.50 to $52.50. Jefferies wrote, “Southern Company reported second-quarter earnings of $0.69, above our estimate of $0.65 and First Call consensus of $0.68. Earnings were $0.71 in the same period a year ago. The primary driver for the quarterly decline in earnings was mild weather in the company's service territory. Management lowered its environmental capital requirements in the 2012-14 time-frame.” Southern Company closed at $47.40 on Wednesday.