Brokerages Set Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) PT at $79.75

Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.25.

Several research analysts have weighed in on SWX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.5%

SWX stock opened at $79.19 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.45. Southwest Gas has a fifty-two week low of $64.69 and a fifty-two week high of $80.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 20.9% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,280,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,673 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Gas

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.