First Hawaiian Bank Has $946,000 Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

First Hawaiian Bank lowered its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 227 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $946,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $82.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $90.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.00. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.