Apollon Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 37.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,253 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.71.

Southern Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of SO traded up $1.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $76.95. 8,919,194 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,824,416. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $77.07. The company has a market capitalization of $84.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is 72.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,126 shares of company stock worth $1,364,115 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern 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.