Eastern Bank Purchases 37,245 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 265.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 51,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,245 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Sara Bay Financial grew its holdings in Southern by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

SO stock opened at $95.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $105.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.84. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is 75.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SO. KeyCorp raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.08.

Southern Company 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.