Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $94.47 and last traded at $93.9960, with a volume of 42654 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Southwest Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $97.29.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.46.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.03. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.95% and a net margin of 19.95%.The firm had revenue of $585.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $695.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 37.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SWX. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 223.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 301.0% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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.