Brokerages Set Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Target Price at $87.40

Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.40.

SWX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:SWX opened at $83.14 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $81.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.65. Southwest Gas has a 12 month low of $64.69 and a 12 month high of $86.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $316.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 6.78%. Southwest Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.09 EPS. Research analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 38.63%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,052,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $552,531,000 after purchasing an additional 19,403 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 9.1% in the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,993,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $148,309,000 after purchasing an additional 167,114 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 146.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,773,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054,963 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 4.5% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,620,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $120,512,000 after buying an additional 70,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,544,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,902,000 after buying an additional 54,318 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.