Apollon Financial LLC Makes New Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Apollon Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 45,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,772,000. Southern makes up about 0.9% of Apollon Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 178,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,086,000 after buying an additional 9,481 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in Southern by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 14,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 6,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 6.8% during the third quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tobam increased its stake in Southern by 25.7% in the third quarter. Tobam now owns 4,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $84.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.63. The stock has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

Southern Profile

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.