Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Hits New 52-Week Low at $59.41

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX – Get Rating) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $59.41 and last traded at $59.90, with a volume of 98218 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SWX shares. TheStreet lowered shares of Southwest Gas from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Bank of America lowered shares of Southwest Gas from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $71.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.75.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.79.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -86.11%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 82.9% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 87.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southwest Gas

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Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc engages in the energy business. It operates through the following business segments: Natural Gas Operations and Utility Infrastructure Services. The Natural Gas Operations segment focuses on purchasing, distribution, and transportation of natural gas in Arizona, California, and Nevada.