Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Receives $75.00 Consensus PT from Analysts

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold 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 $75.00.

A number of research firms have weighed in on SWX. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Southwest Gas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 15th. Bank of America raised Southwest Gas from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 15,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

NYSE SWX opened at $74.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Southwest Gas has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 79.74%.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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.