Eastern Bank Reduces Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Eastern Bank lessened its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 131 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,582,126,000 after buying an additional 1,419,724 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,003,419,000 after buying an additional 107,394 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,680,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $614,297,000 after buying an additional 81,066 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $510,229,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,046,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $280,107,000 after buying an additional 120,816 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $98.23 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $93.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.73. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $98.36. The stock has a market cap of $108.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 76.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.31.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

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.