Eastern Bank Buys 6,420 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Eastern Bank raised its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 84.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,420 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,725,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,066 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,377,494,000 after acquiring an additional 241,572 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at about $1,179,715,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,567,000 after purchasing an additional 87,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 9,099.6% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,011,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,271 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $88.36 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $97.29 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $81.96 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.90.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. TD Cowen began coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.21.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.