Is Southern Company a Buy?
With a market cap of $57 billion, Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is easily one of the largest utility companies in the United States. Meanwhile, its roughly 4.4% yield is toward the high end of its peer group and backed by a 19-year history of annual dividend increases. Even more impressive, the dividend has been maintained or increased for an incredible 71 years.
So far, Southern looks pretty interesting, but don't jump in too fast -- there's more you need to know.
Those dividend stats should be pretty alluring to income-focused investors. But so far in 2019, shares are up a massive 25%. That beats the S&P 500 Index's 19% gain and is way more than the average utility advance, as measured by Vanguard Utility ETF, of 14%. What's going on?
Quelle Fool.com
