Calamos Advisors LLC Increases Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Calamos Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Southern Company during the first quarter, boosting holdings by 113.9% to 420,625 shares worth about $40.6 million.
• Southern beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $1.32 EPS versus the $1.21 estimate and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share, bringing the annualized payout to $3.04 and the dividend yield to 3.2%.

Calamos Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 113.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 420,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 223,978 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $40,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spirepoint Private Client LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,443,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its position in shares of Southern by 243.3% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 14,753 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,462,000. Finally, Bell Bank raised its position in shares of Southern by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 127,901 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,153,000 after purchasing an additional 21,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.26.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $96.47 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $94.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.21. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.