Monday, September 17, 2012

5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Southern

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, electric utility giant Southern (NYSE: SO  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Southern's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Southern facts

Headquarters (founded) Atlanta (1945)
Market Cap $38.6 billion
Industry Electric utilities
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $17.7 billion
Management Chairman/CEO Thomas Fanning (since 2010)
CFO Arthur Beattie (since 2010)
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) 11.7%
Cash/Debt $1.3 billion / $21.3 billion
Dividend Yield 4.3%
Competitors CenterPoint Energy
Entergy
NextEra Energy

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 95% of the 1,068 members who have rated Southern believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Earlier this month, one of those Fools, tayoub22, tapped the stock as a solid long-term income opportunity:

I started investing in [Southern] stock in 1976. Throughout the years Southern has performed admirably in terms of increased dividends, value and growth. From some of [Southern] dividends I had purchased other stocks that added healthy growth to my portfolio. ... No wonder [Southern] is given a five-star rating by [Motley Fool CAPS].

Of course, despite its strong five-star rating, Southern may not be your top choice. If that's the case, we've compiled a special free report for investors called "Secure Your Future With 9 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks," which uncovers several other juicy income opportunities. The report is 100% free, but it won't be around forever, so click here to access it now.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the new TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.

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