The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,175,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 607,946 shares during the period. Southern makes up approximately 1.1% of Federated Hermes Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $433,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southern in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.03 on Thursday, hitting $69.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,197,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,591,354. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.84 and a 200-day moving average of $68.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value 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 $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. 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, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

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.