Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 702,697 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 23.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,343,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 702,697 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $215,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.3% in the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 9,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,926,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,138,000 after purchasing an additional 50,182 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 7,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 1,318 shares during the period. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $258,000. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $224,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.2%

SO opened at $86.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research started coverage on Southern in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.03.

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.