Federated Hermes Inc. Has $433 Million Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,175,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 607,946 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for about 1.1% of Federated Hermes Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.57% of Southern worth $433,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,979,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $369,131,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 38.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $488,461,000 after buying an additional 2,096,988 shares during the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5,840.2% during the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,949,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $194,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916,575 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 5.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,518,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838,857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.07.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,197,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,591,354. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The company has a market capitalization of $76.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $68.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly 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. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.