Calamos Advisors LLC Has $40.60 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 113.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm 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.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its position in Southern by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,513,000 after buying an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $4,443,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its holdings in Southern by 243.3% in 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 buying an additional 14,753 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,462,000. Finally, Bell Bank increased its position in Southern by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 127,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,153,000 after buying an additional 21,751 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SO. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.26.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $96.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $108.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.03 and a 200-day moving average of $93.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

About Southern

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.