Southern Co (NYSE:SO) stock rose 0.46% (As on July 4, 1:15:56 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after Goldman Sachs added Buy-rated the company to the firm’s Conviction List, keeping an $80 price target on the shares. The firm views Southern Company as uniquely positioned to provide above average clean energy growth from nuclear, while having below average regulatory risk within its regulated utility.
Meanwhile, Southern Water has begun £3m of work to reduce the use of storm overflows in Hampshire. The money is being used to increase the capacity of West Wellow Wastewater Treatment Works near Romsey. Three new tanks will be installed at the site to boost the amount of wastewater the firm can treat and reduce the water overflowing into the River Blackwater. The work is part of a £2bn investment pledged by Southern Water between 2020 and 2025 to improve the company’s environmental performance across the south of England. The project is expected to complete in spring next year.
On the other hand, Southern Company earned $867 million, or 79 cents per share, during the first quarter of 2023, compared with $1.03 billion, or 97 cents per share, during the first quarter of 2022. First-quarter 2023 operating revenues were $6.5 billion, compared with $6.6 billion for the first quarter of 2022, a decrease of 2.5 percent. During the quarter, there was milder than normal weather conditions. There was investment in state-regulated utilities and higher weather-normalized retail electricity sales due to sustained customer growth. Economic development pipeline in the Southeast service territories remains robust. Q1 2023 announced job creation and capital investment set all-time first quarter record. Port of Savannah also continues to set records boasting its highest national market share ever and second busiest February on record.
Moreover, SO subsidiaries also actively engage with many of these emerging companies in a mutual quest for new ways to improve their business processes. One such company is Urbint. Urbint uses artificial intelligence in combination with real-world data to predict threats to workers, communities, critical infrastructure and the environment, and to help stop accidents before they happen. Such predictive solutions are potentially game-changing in Southern Company’s pursuit of its core value of Safety First.
Further, Georgia Power announced that Vogtle Unit 3 has safely reached 100 percent power, marking a major milestone towards commercial operation and service for customers. This milestone marks the maximum energy the unit is licensed to produce in the reactor core and is the first time the unit has reached its expected output of approximately 1,100 electric MW, which can power an estimated 500,000 homes and businesses.