Apollon Wealth Management LLC Sells 17,111 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Apollon Wealth Management cut its stake in Southern by 19.9%, selling 17,111 shares in Q4 and leaving 69,038 shares valued at about $6.02 million.
• Southern missed Q4 EPS by $0.01 at $0.55 but posted a 10.1% rise in revenue to $6.98 billion, and analysts hold an average "Hold" rating with a $98.69 consensus target.
• Insiders recently sold shares (EVP 6,669; CEO 25,000) and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.74 (annualized $2.96), a 3.0% yield with a ~75% payout ratio.

Apollon Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,038 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,111 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $6,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Southern by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,084,885,000 after acquiring an additional 510,080 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Southern by 320.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after acquiring an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Southern by 3.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $808,628,000 after acquiring an additional 285,546 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its position in Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $376,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Southern by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,904,697 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $275,277,000 after acquiring an additional 53,641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE SO opened at $97.18 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $95.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $109.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.69.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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