Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 607,946 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,175,189 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 607,946 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up about 1.1% of Federated Hermes Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of Southern worth $433,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% during the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.1 %

Southern stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $70.57. The company had a trading volume of 4,601,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,638,117. The stock has a market cap of $77.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.92 and a 200 day moving average of $68.99.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm's revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 22,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.