Calamos Wealth Management LLC Buys 151,492 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 506.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 181,376 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 151,492 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $12,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO traded up $1.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.15. The stock had a trading volume of 6,549,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,270,214. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 4.41 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 Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The company's 50-day moving average is $69.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.09.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.