If you have read my blog long you know my favorite electric utility stock is Southern Company, symbol SO. Their management is top notch and their regulatory environment plus sheer size of customer base make them in my opinion the single best stock to own if one iw weighting risk and safety. However no one should put all their investment eggs in one basket. So if you are looking for another electric utility to own that compares to SO, then SCG is your pick.
SCG operates and sells almost all their electric generation in South Carolina. Simply put the regulatory environment for a regulated utility is the best in the state of South Carolina. The safety factor for SCG is only beat by Southern Company because SO is just so much larger. South Carolina however is a growing state and has attracted numerous high profile industrial businesses of late. Boeing and BMW came to SC because of that friendly regulatory environment. SCG cooperates to help these businesses prosper and of course the electric power sold helps SCG.
This company operates as conservative as it gets. They raise their dividend, but only when the company is absolutely sure they can pay the new dividend long term. No you will not get rich owning SCG stock, but you also will not get poorer either. Take a look at their chart for 20 years and all you see is up and up, yes slow up and up, but nevertheless up. Even when the economy hits other utilities SCG just fades a bit and keeps going. If you need some diversification in your portfolio and want solid safety with a 4.7% dividend SCG is your ticket.
This stock since it is a smaller utility and only operates in a small area is essentially not covered by the big investment houses, but that does not mean it is not a good stock to own.
I do not own SCG and do not have plans in the future to do so. SCG does not fit my hedge fund trading profile.
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