Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $84.50.

A number of brokerages have commented on SWX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, August 29th.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $80.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 377,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,908. The company has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.57. Southwest Gas has a 52-week low of $64.69 and a 52-week high of $82.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.03). Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The business had revenue of $316.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total transaction of $116,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 6,032,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,000,177.64. This represents a 19.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 146.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,773,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054,963 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the second quarter worth about $63,338,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 72.2% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,550,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,290,000 after purchasing an additional 650,000 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,686,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 176.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 501,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,307,000 after purchasing an additional 320,145 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, distributes and transports natural gas in Arizona, Nevada, and California. The company operates through Natural Gas Distribution, Utility Infrastructure Services, and Pipeline and Storage segments. It also provides trenching, installation, and replacement of underground pipes, as well as maintenance services for energy distribution systems.