We recently compiled a list of the 12 Best Electric Utility Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) stands against the other electric utility stocks.
Electric utility stocks are publicly listed companies that are overseen by government bodies. They generate revenue by supplying reliable energy to customers.
Morningstar energy and utilities strategists Travis Miller and Andrew Bischof find grounds to invest in utility stocks, stating that Utilities’ 2024 rally slowed in October as interest rates began to climb, but utilities stocks are still hanging on to their outstanding returns from the previous year. As of mid-February, the majority of US utilities are trading close to our estimates of their fair values.
Generally speaking, utility companies have high dividend yields and appear to be overpriced at the moment. According to Miller and Bischof:
“Utilities continue to grow their dividends at an impressive rate.” “Nearly all utilities have already announced dividend increases for 2025 or are on track to announce increases in the first quarter. We expect 5% median sectorwide dividend growth in 2025.”
Although they set their predictions below the mainstream, Miller and Bischof predict that the demand for electricity from data centers will almost double. They claim that the outlook for data center electricity demand is trending toward the bull-case scenario from their 10-year forecast in 2023. They stated:
“We remain below consensus forecasts as we believe several constraints—such as regulatory approvals, tight supply chains for equipment, and grid reliability during peak demand—will affect project timing and growth opportunities.”
The utilities sector, the worst-performing broader market group in 2023, recovered in 2024 as the power demand surged due to electrification, decarbonization, and artificial intelligence. The Energy Information Administration forecasts that global power consumption will climb by 75% by 2050, with data centers emerging as a main contributor.
Looking forward, according to Deloitte’s outlook, in 2025, the power and utilities sector will prioritize grid upgrading, nuclear expansion, distributed energy, workforce transformation, and carbon management. Secondly, increasing demand for electricity due to electrification and AI-powered data centers will force utilities to integrate clean energy sources and improve grid efficiency. Cost-sharing schemes and fair tariffs will be crucial. Partnerships and creative financial arrangements that solve waste and safety issues will hasten the implementation of nuclear power. Thirdly, distributed energy resources, such as virtual power plants and microgrids, will boost the efficiency and resilience of the system. Fourthly, utility companies will also make investments in workforce transformation, focusing on innovation-driven talent development, modular skills, and technology training to solve labor shortages. Lastly, notwithstanding technological and legal obstacles, utilities will increase carbon capture, storage, and offset programs in order to achieve decarbonization efforts. These tactics will assist utilities in striking a balance between cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and dependability in the face of rising electricity demand and changing energy regulations.
As per EY’s Power and Utilities Outlook 2025, the use of renewable energy and technology, as well as the modernization of infrastructure, present opportunities for utilities despite their high prices and growing demand.
A technician working with a control panel in a gas distribution center.
Our Methodology
We sifted through holdings of Electric Utility ETFs and online rankings to form an initial list of 30 Electric Utility stocks. From the resultant dataset, we chose the top 12 stocks most favoured by hedge funds, using Insider Monkey’s database of 1,009 hedge funds in Q4 2024 to gauge hedge fund sentiment for stocks. We have used the stock’s Revenue Growth Rate (year-over-year) as a tie-breaker in case two or more stocks have the same number of hedge funds invested.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 53
The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) is one of the largest utilities in the United States, making it one of the Best Utility Stocks. The company provides natural gas distribution utilities in four states and vertically integrated electric utilities in three states to its 9 million consumers. Its 50 gigawatts of rate-regulated producing capacity is mostly used to supply Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi customers. It is a subsidiary that sells power mostly under long-term contracts and has 13 gigawatts of renewable energy and natural gas-producing facilities across the United States.
The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) reported significant earnings growth, with adjusted EPS at the top of its target range, growing 11% from 2023. The firm had substantial growth in both residential and commercial markets, adding 26,000 natural gas distribution customers and 57,000 new residential electric customers, while commercial sales surged 17% year over year. A substantial capital investment plan of $63 billion over the next five years was also revealed by it, of which 95% will go to state-regulated utilities. This is a $14 billion jump over the prior estimate.
Its southeastern area continues to see strong economic development, with more than 150 businesses growing their operations to support 20,000 new jobs and a possible 50,000 megawatt load increase by the mid-2030s. The company’s long-term perspective remains optimistic, as it reaffirms its estimated adjusted EPS growth rate of 5% to 7%, with possible performance falling close to the upper end of this range.
Mizuho raised the The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) price objective from $85 to $90. According to the analyst, the company’s updated expenditure strategy is likely to drive 7% rate-base growth, up from 6% previously. Although the company considers the update to be encouraging, it still believes the shares are valued reasonably.
Overall, SO ranks 5th on our list of the Best Electric Utility Stocks to Buy Now. While we acknowledge the potential for SO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SO but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stock To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
