Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Receives $77.25 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.25.

SWX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $74.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,520,000 after buying an additional 38,710 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $234,905,000 after acquiring an additional 105,549 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,826,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,147,000 after acquiring an additional 16,894 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased 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 acquiring an additional 650,000 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,850,000 after acquiring an additional 27,407 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $78.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.48. Southwest Gas has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.26.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Southwest Gas’s revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.