The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 15.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 7,588 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $5,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. United Capital Management of KS Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 5,597 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $941,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 69.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 19,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research lowered Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.27.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $87.03. 1,071,850 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,437,904. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.52. The business's 50 day moving average is $89.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

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.