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Southern Company (SO) Hikes Dividend for 21st Straight Year
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Southern Company (SO - Free Report) recently announced that it is raising its dividend by more than 3% to a quarterly rate of 68 cents per share, 2 cents up from the prior quarterly rate of 66 cents. On an annualized basis, the payout comes to $2.72, which marks the 21st consecutive annual hike.
The increased quarterly dividend of 68 cents is payable on Jun 6, 2022 to stockholders of record as of May 16, 2022. Southern Company has a long history of dividend payments and has paid out dividends to its shareholders, which are equal to or greater than the previous quarter, in every quarter for the past 75 years. SO’s new dividend yield will be 3.45% compared with the Zacks S&P 500 composite's 1.32%.
Southern Company mentioned that the exceptional customer service, performance and resilience of its energy businesses act as the basis for the company’s overall shareholder value proposition, which has comprised dividends and dividend growth over decades. The board’s action of increasing the dividend reiterates the company’s objective to provide regular, predictable and sustainable earnings-per-share and dividend growth supported by premier state-regulated utilities and energy infrastructure under long-term contracts.
Founded in 1945, Atlanta, GA-based Southern Company is one of the largest utilities in the United States. The company deals with the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. Following its merger with AGL Resources on Jul 1, 2016, SO serves approximately nine million customers through its seven electric and natural gas distribution units.
Southern Company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Meanwhile, investors interested in the utility space can look at better options like TransAlta (TAC - Free Report) , MGE Energy (MGEE - Free Report) and Ameren (AEE - Free Report) . While TransAlta sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Ameren and MGE Energy each carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TransAlta’s 2022 earnings is pegged at 39 cents per share, up 69.6% from the projected year-ago earnings of 23 cents.
TransAlta’s stock has gone up 15.4% in a year. TAC is valued at around $3 billion.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ameren’s 2022 earnings is pegged at $4.07 per share, almost 6% higher than the year-ago estimate of $3.84.
Ameren beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the trailing four quarters, the average being about 3.90%. AEE shares have increased around 19.2% in a year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MGE’s 2022 earnings is projected at $3.13 per share, up 7.2% higher than the year-ago estimate of $2.92.
MGE Energy’s stock has increased 9.4% in a year. MGEE beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the trailing four quarters, the average being about 1.70%.
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Southern Company (SO) Hikes Dividend for 21st Straight Year
Southern Company (SO - Free Report) recently announced that it is raising its dividend by more than 3% to a quarterly rate of 68 cents per share, 2 cents up from the prior quarterly rate of 66 cents. On an annualized basis, the payout comes to $2.72, which marks the 21st consecutive annual hike.
The increased quarterly dividend of 68 cents is payable on Jun 6, 2022 to stockholders of record as of May 16, 2022. Southern Company has a long history of dividend payments and has paid out dividends to its shareholders, which are equal to or greater than the previous quarter, in every quarter for the past 75 years. SO’s new dividend yield will be 3.45% compared with the Zacks S&P 500 composite's 1.32%.
Southern Company mentioned that the exceptional customer service, performance and resilience of its energy businesses act as the basis for the company’s overall shareholder value proposition, which has comprised dividends and dividend growth over decades. The board’s action of increasing the dividend reiterates the company’s objective to provide regular, predictable and sustainable earnings-per-share and dividend growth supported by premier state-regulated utilities and energy infrastructure under long-term contracts.
Founded in 1945, Atlanta, GA-based Southern Company is one of the largest utilities in the United States. The company deals with the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. Following its merger with AGL Resources on Jul 1, 2016, SO serves approximately nine million customers through its seven electric and natural gas distribution units.
Southern Company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Meanwhile, investors interested in the utility space can look at better options like TransAlta (TAC - Free Report) , MGE Energy (MGEE - Free Report) and Ameren (AEE - Free Report) . While TransAlta sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Ameren and MGE Energy each carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TransAlta’s 2022 earnings is pegged at 39 cents per share, up 69.6% from the projected year-ago earnings of 23 cents.
TransAlta’s stock has gone up 15.4% in a year. TAC is valued at around $3 billion.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ameren’s 2022 earnings is pegged at $4.07 per share, almost 6% higher than the year-ago estimate of $3.84.
Ameren beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the trailing four quarters, the average being about 3.90%. AEE shares have increased around 19.2% in a year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MGE’s 2022 earnings is projected at $3.13 per share, up 7.2% higher than the year-ago estimate of $2.92.
MGE Energy’s stock has increased 9.4% in a year. MGEE beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the trailing four quarters, the average being about 1.70%.