10 Best and Safe Dividend Stocks to Buy Now

6. The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 55

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) holds a strong position as a leading player in nuclear energy. Its subsidiary, Southern Nuclear, manages eight nuclear units across three facilities, including the recently completed Vogtle Units 3 and 4, which mark the first newly built commercial nuclear units in the US in nearly 30 years.

Through its various subsidiaries, The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) is involved in power generation, transmission, electric and gas utilities, nuclear operations, and telecom. It expects power demand to grow at an annualized rate of 8% through 2029, which supports projected long-term earnings-per-share growth of 5% to 7% annually, more than enough to support ongoing dividend increases.

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) has a strong history of dividend reliability, having raised its dividend for 24 years in a row and maintaining uninterrupted payments for the past 78 years without any cuts, which makes it one of the best dividend stocks to invest in. Currently, the company offers a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.10%, as of July 27.