Electric utility holding firm, Southern Company (SO Quick QuoteSO - Free Report) , announced the pricing of 32.5 million shares of its common stock. 

The utility has priced the stock in a public offering, which is anticipated to close on Aug 19, 2016. The offering will likely generate gross proceeds of $1.6 billion for Southern Company.

Southern Company plans to utilize the net proceeds to fund a portion of the purchase amount of 50% equity interest in Southern Natural Gas and for other general corporate purposes.

SOUTHERN CO Price

SOUTHERN CO Price | SOUTHERN CO Quote

Atlanta, GA-based Southern Company is one of the largest generators of electricity in the nation. The company serves the booming Southeast market, which is considered to be an advantageous region to operate in owing to the higher-than-average natural population growth, a strong and diverse regional economy, constructive regulation and comparatively tight power markets. These provide a solid base for Southern’s regulated business, which is expected to make up roughly 90% of its consolidated earnings over the next few years.

However, as is the case with other electric utilities, Southern Company has been experiencing flat-to-low electricity sales over the last few years due to the impact of fluctuating weather conditions on overall consumer demand.

Hence, Southern Company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked players from the Utilities-Electric Power industry include Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEP Quick QuoteKEP - Free Report) , Spark Energy, Inc. and Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais S.A. (CIG Quick QuoteCIG - Free Report) . While Korea Electric Power and Spark Energy sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Companhia Energética holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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