Southern Company (SO) Raises Quarterly Dividend By 3.4%

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) recently announced a 3.4% hike in its quarterly dividend, resulting in the company paying a quarterly dividend of 60 cents per share compared with 58 cents paid earlier. Shareholders of Southern Company of record as of May 21, 2018 will now be rewarded with the increased dividend on Jun 6, 2018, which is in line with our expectations.

The new dividend, which signifies an annualized payout of $2.40 per share, offers an attractive dividend yield of 5.2%. The yield is much higher than the industry's average of 3.6%.

Notably, the hike marks the 282nd consecutive quarter of uninterrupted dividend payment by the utility, which started in 1948. With their regulated business models and stability in earnings, utilities are among the most consistent dividend stocks in the market. Southern Company is one such blue-chip utility stock.

Price Performance

Southern Company has lost 7.9% last year compared with 2.7% decline of its industry.

About the Company

Atlanta, GA-based Southern Company is one of the largest utilities in the United States. Following its merger with AGL Resources (NYSE:GAS) on Jul 1, 2016, Southern Company serves approximately nine million customers through its 11 electric and natural gas distribution units in nine states. It boasts a generating capacity of 46,000 megawatts, around 200,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines and more than 80,000 miles of natural gas pipelines.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Southern Company has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). If you are interested in the energy sector, you can opt for some better-ranked stocks like CNOOC Limited (NYSE:CEO) , Oasis Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:OMP) and CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Hong Kong-based CNOOC is an integrated energy company. Its revenues for 2018 are anticipated to improve 51.3% year over year, while its bottom line is expected to increase 80.8%.

Houston, TX-based Oasis Midstream is an integrated energy partnership. Its revenues for 2018 are anticipated to improve 29.3% from the prior-year quarter, while its bottom line is expected to increase 337.2%.

Houston, TX-based CenterPoint is a public utility holding company. For 2018, the bottom line of the company is likely to be up 13.1%. In the last four reported quarters, the company witnessed a positive average surprise of 11.5%.

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