Calamos Advisors LLC Has $15.31 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,795,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.54. 1,014,572 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,586,315. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.99. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.07.

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.