Eventide Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Eventide Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 19.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 392,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 94,650 shares during the quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $36,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in Southern by 2.3% in the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.6% in the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.1% in the second quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 10,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $940,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC increased its stake in Southern by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 3,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:SO opened at $84.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $92.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $92.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $100.83.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 73.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Southern from $107.00 to $99.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.50.

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.