Southern Co. ( NYSE: SO ) +2.2% in Thursday's trading after reporting better than expected Q2 adjusted earnings and revenues , while it slightly raised the cost estimate for two nuclear reactors under construction at the Vogtle plant in Georgia.
The company lifted the capital cost estimate for its share of the new reactors by $52M to ~$10.5B - which investors may see as a victory for the project that is billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.
Southern ( SO ) also narrowed its previously projected in-service dates to Q1 2023 for Unit 3 and Q4 2023 for Unit 4, after previously forecasting a window of Q4 2022 to Q1 2023 for Unit 3 and Q3-Q4 2023 for Unit 4.
According to Reuters, some analysts estimate total costs, including financing, for the Vogtle expansion have ballooned to more than $30B.
Southern ( SO ) offers a solid dividend yield of close to 4% and reliable dividend growth, and shares look reasonably valued, Jonathan Weber writes in a bullish analysis posted recently on Seeking Alpha .
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Southern cost estimate ticks higher for Georgia Vogtle nuclear plant