Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $77.25.

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

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX stock opened at $78.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.50. Southwest Gas has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,520,000 after purchasing an additional 38,710 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $234,905,000 after purchasing an additional 105,549 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 0.9% in the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,826,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,147,000 after purchasing an additional 16,894 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 72.2% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 650,000 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,850,000 after purchasing an additional 27,407 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

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.