Is Southern Company a Great Dividend Stock?
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is one of the largest utilities in the United States. With a largely regulated and fee-based business spanning electric, natural gas, and renewable power, it has a sizable and locked-in customer base. Add in a generous 4%-or-so dividend yield, roughly twice what the S&P 500 Index is offering today, and dividend investors should be interested in this high-yield name. But don't jump in just yet -- there's a lot more to know before you decide whether or not Southern Company is a great dividend stock to add to your portfolio.
There is no question that Southern Company has some serious dividend bonafides. The biggest one by far is its 19-year streak of annual dividend increases. That's a pretty impressive number that places this utility in rare company, but it isn't the only one to look at. Southern Company also hasn't cut its dividend in over 70 years. That's seven decades of dividends, at equal or higher levels, that income-focused investors were able to count on. And Southern has no intention of violating this streak now; its goal is to continue making modest increases over the next few years (more on this in a second.)
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Source Fool.com
