Income is a big part of investors' returns. Stocks, mutual funds and fixed income ideas in this column are featured because they are relatively solid in their ability to pay dividends or interest. We're giving income investors a resource to start their research for investments that give better yields with lower risk.

June 1, 2011 - SCANA Corporation (SCG-NYSE) and its subsidiaries engage in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity to retail and wholesale customers in South Carolina. It owns nuclear, coal, hydro, oil and gas, and biomass generating facilities. The company also purchases, sells, and transports natural gas; offers energy-related risk management services; acquires, owns, and provides financing for nuclear fuel, fossil fuel, and emission allowances; and offers service contracts on home appliances, and heating and air conditioning units.

Further, SCANA Corporation owns and operates a 500-mile fiber optic telecommunications network and Ethernet network, and data center facilities in South Carolina. Through a joint venture, it builds, manages, and leases communications towers with interest in 2,280 miles of fiber in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia.

As of December 31, 2010, the company supplied electricity to approximately 660,000 customers; and natural gas to approximately 482,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in North Carolina, as well as to approximately 460,000 customers in Georgia. The company's retail customers are municipalities, electric cooperatives, other investor-owned utilities, registered marketers, and federal and state electric agencies. It primarily serves chemicals, educational services, paper products, food products, lumber and wood products, health services, textile manufacturing, rubber and miscellaneous plastic products, and fabricated metal products industries. The company was founded in 1924 and is based in Cayce, South Carolina.

Even with the nuclear problems recently experienced in Japan, SCANA is going ahead with its plan to build 2 nuclear plants. Its South Carolina Electric and Gas unit will spend about $8.5 billion to own 55% of the new units, including transmission. That represents about 1,200 megawatts of new power. These sites are not near a seismic fault or a coastline. Their designs also differ from the Japanese plants. Electricity should flow by 2016 and 2017, if the regulatory approvals are granted later this year or early next.

The company usually receives regulatory approval for rate hikes annually. Management believes it will see earnings increase between 3% and 5% every year. For 2010, earnings were $2.98 a share. This year, 9 analysts expect $3.07, then $3.20 for 2012. There's nothing exciting to see here, unless you like almost certainty in your investments. Of course, as the earnings rise, so do the dividends.

Payouts at this utility have gone up every year since 2000 when they were $1.15. Last year, the dividend was $1.90. For 2011, investors can expect $1.94 for a yield of 4.80%. That's a payout ratio of 63%. The company has a history of paying between 54% and 66% of earnings over the last 10 years. Management has a target range of between 55% and 60% so don't expect dividend growth to match previous years until earnings increase at a faster rate.

Essential numbers: Market Cap is $5.2 billion. Trailing P/E is 13.63 and the Forward P/E is 12.65. Price to sales ratio is 1.17. Price to book is 1.37. For the last 12 months, Operating margin was 17.65% and Profit margin is 8.46%. Return on equity was 10.34% and Return on assets was 3.93%. Total revenues were $4.45 billion. Total cash is $124 million. Total cash per share is 97 cents. Total debt is $5.16 billion. Total Debt to Equity is 135.92%. Current ratio is .76. Book value per share is $29.59. Beta is .57. In the last year, the stock is up 14.95%. There are 128.43 million shares Outstanding with a Float of 114.13 million. Insiders own 10.69%. Institutions have 47.40% of the Float.

One very positive attribute of this stock is its relative stability. In the last 2 years, it traded in a range between $34 and $42, no matter what the market in general did. There's comfort in that for many investors looking for a decent yield. Sometimes price volatility is a high price to pay for a good dividend.

The only concern currently for investors is the building of the new nuclear plants. There could be delays and/or cost overruns, especially in light of the Japanese disaster.