Southern Company (SO)

[eFinanceMarkets]

$SO Southern Co. can overcome two problem projects, analysts say
Southern Co. (NYSE:SO) can withstand two big projects with problems - the behind schedule and overbudget Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia, and the failed effort to run the Kemper County project in Mississippi on "clean coal" - Moody's associate managing director Mike Haggarty says.

Noting that SO has several other utilities in various parts of the U.S., Haggarty says the company is "a big diverse organization, so they have been able to withstand the adverse developments at two of their utilities, but clearly it's a concern to investors.”

It's not SO's fault that low natural gas prices have made the projects, which were meant to be innovative, less competitive, says ClearView Energy Partners director of research Christine Tezak.

“If natural gas prices had gone to $8 and stayed there, these projects would look so much more economically sensible... at $3 to $4 gas, the landscape is different," Tezak says.