Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $88.40.

SWX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho set a $96.00 price target on Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $99.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $87.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.28. Southwest Gas has a 52 week low of $64.69 and a 52 week high of $90.00. The firm has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.43 and its 200-day moving average is $81.31.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $480.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.01 million. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 8,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE: SWX) is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company’s core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation’s larger natural gas utilities by customer count.