Calamos Advisors LLC Grows Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 218,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $15,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

Southern Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:SO traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $71.54. 1,014,572 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,586,315. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80. The firm has a market cap of $78.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $68.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.99.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.