Hello fellow investors 👋

this is post #4 out of #50, where I introduce you to all the dividend stocks in my portfolio

Today we talk about Southern Company - $SO

Investing in the utility sector is, in my opinion, a 101 rule of all dividend investors out there. Utilities are the perfect business that can bring safety and decrease the beta of your portfolio. I will probably make a separate post exactly about them; for now, I will focus on $SO

Southern Company is an energy provider that focuses its business mostly on the southern states of the US. It is a strong player and one of the biggest energy companies on the market, raking 3rd, close to Dominion Energy $D (spoiler alert: it's another of my holding 😏)

Of course, the company is a strong dividend payer, returning an increasing annual dividend from 20years 💪

As required nowadays, also $SO is committed to Carbon-Free energy and to produce zero emission in 2050. It's a very ambitious goal, especially because at this stage, 2022, the company is still far away from getting rid of the coal business. If we look at their last report, 22% of the energy produced comes from coal - a shame if you ask me. 😔

The last point to discuss is the construction of the next generation Nuclear Plant in Georgia (Vogtle Unit 3 & Unit 4) which are ongoing and represent a massive capital-intensive project. As often happen, such projects generate endless delays and cost increases, and it is for me, my major concern over the financial statement of $SO 😟

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