Eastern Bank Makes New $660,000 Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Southern by 18.2% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 79,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,697,000 after purchasing an additional 12,247 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 55,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,948,000 after buying an additional 3,201 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Southern by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 323,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,193,000 after acquiring an additional 13,728 shares in the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Southern by 2.1% in the first quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO boosted its stake in Southern by 31.7% in the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE SO opened at $94.15 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.20.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.07.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.