Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc Has $353,000 Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SO. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus upped their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.80. 3,974,010 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,522,636. The stock has a market cap of $94.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $89.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $80.59 and a 200-day moving average of $74.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Southern Company 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.